Paul Daly (Fianna Fail)

I welcome that last week the Minister for agriculture included blackgrass on the list of noxious weeds under the noxious weeds legislation. It joins a group of other weeds, including broad-leaved dock, common ragwort, creeping thistle, spring wild oat and winter wild oat. They are all invasive species and are very destructive on agricultural land. The onus is on all landowners to remove these species, and that includes local authorities and roads authorities. However, on reading the small print, the farmer is obliged to look after it under the good agricultural and environmental condition, GAEC, 8. If farmers do not fulfil their duty under that condition, they will suffer deductions to their area-based payments. Farmers do not need that stick. Even without that stick, farmers are good custodians of the land. Reading the condition, what it says about the non-agricultural landowners, which includes local authorities and the roads authorities, is that if noxious weeds are reported and found on non-agricultural land, then an assessment will be conducted by a Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine officer. If there is no threat to agricultural land, then no enforcement or further action should be taken.

Seeds and pollinating honeybees do not know the difference between agricultural land and other land. If there is ragwort on the side of a road, we can be sure it will end up inside nearby fences and hedges. The very same responsibility and onus is on local authorities and roads authorities. A Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine inspector going out and saying that there is no threat to agricultural land from a noxious weed because it is on the side of a road is pure and utter lunacy. The authorities in question need to be treated the very same and need to shoulder the same responsibility.