CITY COUNCIL DEFENDS MANAGEMENT OF NOXIOUS WEED

Date Published: 03-Aug-2012

Galway City Council has hit out at claims that it’s not doing enough to tackle the spread of ragwort weed.

City Cllr Padraig Conneely has reported the problem to the Department of Agriculture and says the local authority is not doing enough to comply with the Noxious Weed Act 1936.

The weed thrives on a wide range of soils, but competes best on lighter free draining soils where fertility is reasonably high and grazing not intensive.

It germinates in the autumn and spring.

A spokesperson for the local authority says Galway City Council is one of few urban councils that has a continued focus on tackling the weed through the Parks department.

The spokesperson adds that the problem is NOT being ignored and attempts are being made to manage it as the spread is particularly bad this year due to wet and warm weather conditions.

However Cllr Padraig Conneely says more needs to be done.