28 leading environmental organisations are calling for a ban on the use of a chemical in Ireland's state-owned forests that poses a threat to bees and other wildlife.
The Environmental Pillar says the chemical Cypermethrin is used annually on 50,000 hectares of Coillte forests - and can also pose a health risk to humans.
Coillte is currently applying to international forestry body the FSC to continue the use of the chemical.
The Environmental Pillar is calling for a complete and immediate ban on the spraying of Cypermethrin on forest sites, as well as "an incremental phasing out of the dipping of plants in nurseries over the next five years to allow for different approaches to dealing with the pine weevil."
Spokesperson for the Environmental Pillar, Andrew St Ledger, says the chemical is harming our wildlife:
