Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Mr. Callanan is telling us about crops, mainly. Our main worries, and the worries that have been raised with the committee, are that local authorities are spraying footpaths to get rid of weeds, as Deputy Buckley said when he spoke about parks and playgrounds, and that people are using those areas and bringing those agents back into their houses, which is dangerous. Local authorities should explore alternatives in that regard. One of the reasons local authorities have given, which is no reflection on the witnesses as they probably cannot do anything about this, is that there is not much of a price difference between the products and that it is a matter of getting the machinery to carry out the work. The Department, however, should encourage local authorities when treating playgrounds, pitches and so on, as opposed to crops, to use alternatives.