Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will make two brief comments. The Chairman covered some of the issues I intended to raise. Sometimes local authorities are placed in a no-win situation, mainly in the context of rural roads. It is a health and safety issue on an acute bend. Mr. Walsh will know how it is. In summertime, wild parsnip and other plants grow out onto the road, which means walkers and cyclists have to move out from the roadside. The initial reaction to that sometimes, particularly if people complain, is to spray it off. Maybe if councils have to take that sort of action, they should cut back the vegetation rather than spray it.