Failure to give Ireland’s EU position on pesticides a ‘democratic deficit’.

Press Release - Friends of the Irish Environment - May 20th 2021

Ireland's position on bee mortality permitted by pesticides questioned.

Failure to give Ireland’s EU position on pesticides a ‘democratic deficit’.

Six environmental groups have written an ‘Open Letter’ to four Ministers seeking Ireland’s position on the limits of mortalities permitted through the use of pesticides.

The groups are seeking Ireland's position on pesticides in last March’s meeting of the EU’s Standing Committee on Plant, Animal, Food and Feed and what position the State plans to take at the forthcoming meeting in June.

According to the letter to Ministers Ryan, Hackett, Heydon, and McConalogue, a majority of the Member States now favour at least doubling the 5% permitted threshold of mortalities after pesticide treatments (which can be repeated through the growing season) with some member states proposing to allow as much as 25% of a colony to be destroyed under the revised ‘Bee Guidance Document’.

PRESS RELEASE
FRIENDS OF THE IRISH ENVIRONMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - WORLD BEE DAY IS MAY 20, 2021
12 May 2021

Ireland's position on bee mortality permitted by pesticides questioned.

Failure to give Ireland’s EU position on pesticides a ‘democratic deficit’.

Six environmental groups have written an ‘Open Letter’ to four Ministers seeking Ireland’s position on the limits of mortalities permitted through the use of pesticides.

The groups are seeking Ireland's position on pesticides in last March’s meeting of the EU’s Standing Committee on Plant, Animal, Food and Feed and what position the State plans to take at the forthcoming meeting in June.

According to the letter to Ministers Ryan, Hackett, Heydon, and McConalogue, a majority of the Member States now favour at least doubling the 5% permitted threshold of mortalities after pesticide treatments (which can be repeated through the growing season) with some member states proposing to allow as much as 25% of a colony to be destroyed under the revised ‘Bee Guidance Document’.

The letter says that ‘All these discussions are taking place behind closed doors in the Standing Committee on Plant, Animal, Food and Feed and your position is never made official, which is in our view a deficit of democracy.’

The groups - An Taisce, Bat Conservation Ireland, CELT, Friends of the Irish Environment, The Organic Centre, and VOICE - have also asked the Ministers for their positions on 3 bee-harming pesticides - sulfoxaflor, benfluralin and cypermethrin - which they say ‘do not fulfil the approval criteria for active substances according to Article 4 of the EU Pesticide Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009.’

The European Commission has fixed, as an objective of the European Green Deal, to restore biodiversity and to reduce the use and risk of pesticides by 50% by 2030.

Contact: Caroline Lewis: 353 (0)87 2176316 / 353 (0)27 74771

URL for letter https://www.friendsoftheirishenvironment.org/images/ECI/EciLetterWebOnSulfoxaflorAndBeeGuidanceMay21.pdf
URL for Petition https://www.savebeesandfarmers.eu/eng/
This Press Release
https://www.friendsoftheirishenvironment.org/press-releases/17973-ireland-s-position-on-bee-mortality-permitted-by-pesticides-questioned
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