Denis Landy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I recognise the work that has been done already in recognising the problem and the initiative to set up and have a working protocol in this State. There is urgency to this matter, however, which perhaps has been lost in the approach that has been taken.

Most of the statistics we have on knotweed relate to Britain. Knotweed in Britain currently prevents people from getting mortgages to buy houses. It prevents properties from being sold. It has destroyed development property where it has blown in from adjoining wasteland. The same thing is happening in this country and we need to wake up to what is going on here.

I recognise that what the Minister of State is doing is good but alongside those measures I suggest that he should bring together the various players involved. These include Inland Fisheries Ireland, the National Botanic Gardens, the National Roads Authority, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and, most important, the local authorities. The local authorities are actively facing and dealing with the matter.

I drove through east Cork some weeks ago. Along the road between Fermoy and the Waterford border I saw signs warning people of Japanese knotweed. More than anything else, I call on the Minister of State to get the Department to lead an awareness campaign, because people do not recognise knotweed. They do not recognise it by viewing it and, therefore, they do not realise that if they touch it, the spores will move from that location to wherever they go that day and the next day. People can spread it without knowing. An awareness campaign is essential as a first step. I call on the Mister State to bring the relevant people together and to hold a forum on the matter as soon as possible.