WESTBURY would be the perfect setting for a tropical film due to the prevalence of giant invasive plants, a South Clare councillor has remarked.
Threats posed by the extent of hogweed in Westbury was flagged by Cllr James Ryan (SF) at this week’s sitting of the Shannon Municipal District.
He highlighted that the river in the locality now has “a massive amount of hogweed and this poses a threat to all areas nearby”. He requested that the Shannon MD liaise with the National Parks and Wildlife Service “to get more funding to tackle this invasive species. A lot of improvement has been made to areas in Shannonbanks and Clonlara but this will be in vain if the area in Westbury is not tackled”.
Acting senior executive engineer in the Shannon MD, Caimin Dillon stated, “a programme of treatment has been carried out over the last number of years funded from own resources. Treatment will continue this year and the Westbury area will be included. Funding is currently being sought for treatment of the invasive species”.
Photographs have been submitted to the MD office by Cllr Ryan. “It is nuts, if I was to make a film about a tropical war I would go down to Westbury because there is all these giant invasive plants”. He added, “If one plant survives the seed survives and they can go into the water and every other area can be bad too”.
Commending the work that has taken place in Clonlara and Shannonbanks, he said the inability to deal with the matter in Westbury “will put it all back years if it is not treated properly”.
Seconding the proposal, Cllr Michael Begley (IND) referred to recent funding for the county which only benefitted West Clare and the Killaloe Municipal District. He asked the MD office to consult with the Clare Local Development Company over the possibility of securing funding, “maybe a combined effort might help to improve the funding available. It is needed in Shannonbanks & Westbury needs to be done, it is bad if not worse than the other side”.
Funding announced was for “particular invasive species,” Dillon flagged. He said a “top to bottom approach” has been followed in covering different areas. “They don’t make a distinction but there seems to be a huge emphasis on Japanese knotweed,” replied Cllr Begley.
“This is a very serious problem which keeps growing and growing, people can get very ill from it, having no response is not a solution,” stressed Cllr Tony Mulcahy (FG). Cllr Pat O’Gorman (FF) commented, “Since I’ve come back into County Council there’s been motions on the hogweed on a yearly basis for that corner of Clare, it is getting worse not better, the programme cannot keep up with it”.
Shannonbanks “has got better but that two acre area in Westbury is horrendous, it is literally all you can see,” explained Cllr Ryan.
