European Commission to look into Ireland's use of antibiotics

The European Commission is going to spend €200 million looking into our use of antibiotics.

Growing resistance to the drugs is now contributing to 25,000 deaths every year in Europe.

Ruth Deasy of the EU office in Dublin says it is vital that the problem is tackled.

"We face a frightening post-antibiotic future where we will not be able to do commonplace surgery safely, such as hip implants or heart valves, without these drugs," she said.

"We need to tackle the use of antibiotics in people and animals simultaneously, we need to work together and exchange best practice and put lots of money into research, which the commission is doing now."