Fact Sheet: Noxious Weeds

Ragwort, Thistle, Dock, Common Barberry, Male Wild Hop and Spring Wild Oat are scheduled as noxious weeds under the Noxious Weeds Act 1936. Any person responsible for land on which these weeks are growing is liable, upon conviction, to be fined. A person responsible for land may be either the owner, occupier, user or manager of the land. In the case of public roads, parks etc. local authorities have similar obligations.

Any member of the Garda Síochána or any authorised inspector may at all reasonable times enter any farm or land to see if any noxious weeds are growing on the land. Where noxious weeks are growing on land, the person responsible may be served with a notice requiring the destruction of the noxious weeds in a specified manner and time. Failure to comply with the conditions or terms of the notice served shall result in prosecution. In addition, the Minister for Agriculture may arrange for the destruction of the noxious weeks concerned and recover the cost of doing so from the person responsible as a simple contract debt in any appropriate court. Also, under the Single Payment Scheme, farmers are required to maintain land in Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition as part of Cross-Compliance. One of the Cross-Compliance conditions is that appropriate measures must be adopted to minimise the spread of noxious weeds. Failure to comply with this condition may result in a reduction in the Single Farm Payment.

Where weeds are abundant they indicate that land is not being properly farmed and are evidence of a low level of grassland management. Weeds use up the plant foods, space, light and moisture which should nourish profitable crops. They make harvesting difficult and reduce the feeding value and palatability of many farm products. Some weeds, such as ragwort, are poisonous to livestock, while others play a part in the multiplication of pests and diseases. Ragwort, thistle and dock are particularly undesirable because their seeds are widely scattered about and infect neighbouring fields and farms.