Kerry County Council says stopping the spread of ragwort on roadsides can present challenges.
Radio Kerry News has received complaints from listeners about the spread noxious weed on roadside verges this summer, saying it's impacting visibility.
The 1993 Roads Act places responsibility for the maintenance of roadside hedges on the owners or occupiers of the adjoining lands.
The council says where responsibility lies with it and other local authorities, guidance is provided by Transport Infrastructure Ireland’s guidelines on the management of noxious weeds and non-native invasive plant species on national roads.
Control measures that can be applied to ragwort include cutting, hand pulling and chemical control measures, but the council says each measure presents challenges, which can create other difficulties.
Micheline Sheehy Skeffington is president of the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland.
She says ragwort needs to be kept off land as it is poisonous to most livestock.
However, she says ragwort is good for bees and other insects and encourages pollinators, so it shouldn't be seen as a problem on roadsides:
A video captured by Tony Donnelly from Waterville showing roadsides in South Kerry with ragwort and other weeds:
On Kerry Today with Jerry -
- Are our roadsides in ragwort order? Tony Donnelly from Waterville says the roadsides in South Kerry are overgrown with ragwort and other weeds, including invasive species. (Tony's video attached.)
- Defence and EU Affairs Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill speaks to Jerry.
- Plus, Tony will be here for A Problem Shared.Posted by Radio Kerry on Wednesday, August 28, 2024
