Council says ‘no other alternative’ to Roundup
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A proposal to ban the Council from using controversial weed killer Roundup in all public areas of Sligo has been deferred.
Fianna Fáil Councillor Rosaleen O’Grady proposed banning the use of Roundup by the County Council at the October meeting of the Council held on Monday. She was supported by party colleague Councillor Tom MacSharry who said some experts had said the Glyphosate used in Roundup was carcinogenic.
Cllr O’Grady pointed to the case in the US where the manufacturer of Roundup, Monsanto was found liable in August for a terminally ill man’s cancer, awarding him $289m in damages.
Responding, Director of Services with Sligo County Council Tom Kilfeather said Roundup was the “most viable” weedkiller they could use and was one of the safest products to combat invasive weed species near water, such as Japanese Knotweed and Giant Hogweed.
Mr Kilfeather said the EU had approved the use of Roundup for another five years but he also said a local authority in Dublin was piloting an alternative product. He appealed to the members to wait the outcome of the Dublin pilot project before banning the product in Sligo. Cllr MacSharry said it was an argument that would be “won and lost at EU level.” He said Roundup was only licenced in the EU after “hard lobbying” by Monsanto. Cllr MacSharry said the EU had also ordered a scientific report on Roundup and felt it was something that would be banned if not now, in the future. He also said NUIG were doing a project on it and might be able to advise Sligo County Council about it. Cllr O’Grady said if anyone had seen someone suffering from Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma they would not take the risk of still using Roundup. She appealed to the members that Sligo Council should be “ahead of the posse” and not put anyone at risk. Mr Kilfeather said he fully understood the sentiments of her motion but asked what was the alternative. He warned if the Council banned Roundup now, they would not be able to eradicate Japanese Knotweed or Giant Hogweed on public lands. He was supported by Council Chief Executive Ciarán Hayes who also urged Cllr O’Grady to await the outcome of the Dublin pilot project. She agreed to defer her motion but insisted she wanted it kept on the agenda.