Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

That body stated it wanted to increase the penalties for a person driving on a rural road having consumed a pint and a half of beer. It is the same crowd that is supposed to be interested in safety. It is the same group that is pulling in new lorries on the side of the road and taking them to test centres, even though they are only a few months old. That is what the RSA is doing. It has no interest at all in what is happening on the roads in terms of overgrowth and hedges and people having their eyes picked out or being killed. As I stated, although local authorities may have the power, as I believe they have, to cut dangerous hedges that pose a health and safety risk, it has not been happening in Kerry or any neighbouring county in which I travel, including west and north west Cork and parts of Limerick.

People's lives are important and if someone is killed, there is no return. Many people are killed while walking and cycling along our roads. Considerable pressure is being applied by cyclists to have their safety improved. To be honest, they are being pushed out among cars travelling behind them. If two cars meet, cyclists are shoved into a ditch because the drivers are coming around a turn or the like and cannot see in time that another vehicle is coming. That is how accidents and fatalities happen.

It was not out of malice but for every good reason that I tabled my amendment on allowing roadside hedges to be cut all year round. It has not been happening. The Minister stated she was not in support of my amendment. It hurts me greatly that we cannot get my provision into this Bill, since we have been waiting for so long. I have been vocal on this issue since 2004. I had to fight to save my council seat because another councillor made a serious remark that I sought to get hedges cut because I wanted to get that work for myself. I had to fight like I had never fought before to hold my seat in that election. Nothing could have been further from the truth. I wanted to get hedges cut to allow school buses to bring children to schools. The hedge cutting tender process was open to everyone else as well and the hedges in question were miles away from me. It was in September 2004 and it cost me a great deal of money to save my seat. I paid people to help represent me, yet it was not them who helped but another poor, honest man who put the matter in perspective and allowed me to defend my seat rightfully. That is what I have gone through where cutting hedges is concerned. I almost lost my seat trying to get them cut.

This is a serious matter. I would have liked to succeed but I now realise that I will not. I do not have the support of this room. When the Bill returns to the Seanad, I am sure I will not have the support there either. As such, I will not press my amendment even though it breaks my heart. I honestly feel-----