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

I very much welcome the Minister's statement on LIS funding. That is terribly important.

The Minister referred to hedges. A great system was in place previously, as the Minister is aware. Every councillor in the country gets a councillor's allocation. In the past, councillors were allowed to use some of their allocation to cut hedges. That system worked. Unfortunately, forcing farmers to cut their hedges does not make sense. Some farmers are unable to cut their hedges. Some may be elderly. Others may own property and be away - they might be out of the country. Let us suppose there is a roadway where one farmer is cutting his hedge and another person is not doing so. This means there is no uniformity. Our roads are being narrowed. The Minister saw it himself when he was in Kerry. The roads are becoming so narrow because of year after year of growth. It is proving impossible. It is true that some farmers make an effort and they are able to do so, but others cannot.

I humbly suggest that the Minister should allow local authorities to once again do what they did in the past, that is, allow councillors to allocate sums of money from their councillor's allocation to cut certain roads where they deem fit. That would be a solution to the problem.

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