Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if it is true that landowners who allow noxious weeds such as ragwort to grow on their holdings are liable to penalty; the reason the same standard does not appear to apply to the National Roads Authority or local authorities who control the perimeter of the country's roads; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38062/12]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My Department actively seeks to enforce the provisions of the Noxious Weeds Act 1936 by engaging with all County Councils, Local Authorities and the National Roads Authority (NRA) to ensure a consistent programme of treatment and disposal of such weeds on an ongoing basis. In this regard, all County Councils, Local Authorities and the National Roads Authority were written to in March and April of this year emphasising their statutory obligations and the importance of implementing measures for the treatment and safe disposal of ragwort .

Fines under the Noxious Weeds Act have been updated under the provisions of the Fines Act of 2010, which provides for a fine of up to €1,000 on conviction. Under the EU Single Farm Payment Scheme, farmers are obliged to keep their lands free from noxious weeds under the cross compliance measures of the Scheme. Failure to do so may result in a reduction of payment entitlements.