Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister might be answering the same question twice. Deputy Healy-Rae referred to hedge cutting and things moved on. I would like to go back to it. We are talking about a closed period. Obviously, a Bill is going through. I do not think there is a full realisation of the situation that is out there. I can only talk about Cork County Council. Going back many years ago, it had full authority and was cutting verges, which the community appreciated and was willing to pay for to a degree. That has ceased to be the case.

The local authority does not cut the verges any more and it is left to the local community to do so. Grants have been provided and local community groups try to draw down money to cut some of the verges. The reality is that 80% of the verges are not cut. That costs us and operators with lorries thousands of euros worth of damage and only the damage to vehicles is covered. The overgrowth at verges will definitely be the cause of deaths on our roads. Such overgrowth is to be found throughout rural Ireland. A closed period for the cutting of the verges seemed to apply in rural Ireland. When I was driving on the motorway to Dublin at 7.30 a.m., a gentleman telephoned me about this issue. I have been inundated with calls on it for the last pew days due to the very strong growth in vegetation in west Cork. As I was travelling here this morning, I saw three machines cutting the verges of the motorways between Cork and Dublin. Where is the concern for the protection of the wildlife on the route between Cork and Dublin? We have to protect the wildlife in rural Ireland. Such is the level of growth that we cannot get around our bins and we cannot pull out onto our roadways without taking the vehicle halfway across the road to check for oncoming traffic. On our motorways, however, the verges are cut to keep the edges clear at any time of the year one wants. What is the closed period for such cutting on the motorways? I would like a review of this area to try to find a compromise that would suit everybody. We have to protect our wildlife but, more importantly, we also have to protect human lives.