Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Over the past five or six months the Minister has looked for submissions on verge trimming and hedge cutting throughout the country. This has become a major problem since April from the point of view of road safety and access on the byroads of Ireland.

If one travels the byroads of the country, it is horrendous to see the amount of grass and hedges that are hanging out. Councils, perhaps through lack of funding or whatever, did not have the required resources to deal with the issue. I welcome that in some parts of the country some community schemes are in place - I know of some in Cork and Clare. Will the Minister change the regulations to allow this to be facilitated for a longer period of time, all year around or whatever?

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