ALERT: Hazardous plant that can 'burn and scar' running rampant in parts of Tipperary

West Tipperary farmers are being encouraged to take part in an environmental project to eradicate the hazardous Giant Hogweed plant that is growing rampantly on land and along river banks in the Cappawhite area.

Funding is now available to remove this invasive and dangerous plant that can severely burn and scar people’s skin and reduce water quality.

It is growing pervasively around the Toem, Cappawhite and Cahernahailla tributaries of the Upper Mulkear/Dead River catchment.

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Carrick-on-Suir Municipal District’s councillors received an update on the West Tipperary Giant Hogweed Project at their latest monthly meeting in Carrick-on-Suir Town Hall during a presentation given by Local Authorities Water Programme representatives on the Farming for Water European Innovation Partnership - a €60m agri-environmental scheme for farmers.

The meeting heard that funding to remove Giant Hogweed infestations from farmland in this part of west Tipperary is now available through the Farming for Water EIP.

Noel Dundon, Communications & Engagement Lead with LAWPRO and Farming for Water EIP, told councillors Giant Hogweed poses a threat to human health, particularly children, due to the hazardous sap it produces that causes severe burns and scarring by sensitising the skin to light.

Apart from this, Giant Hogweed’s large surface area means it shades out native plant species. It also increases soil erosion along riverbanks, which impacts on water quality.

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It can grow up to 6m in height and its serrated and sharply divided leaves can grow to 3m in length and 1.5m wide.

Mr Dundon said the plant grows and spreads very quickly with each plant producing up to 10,000 seeds annually.

“In west Tipperary, the plant is fairly rampant particularly along the Upper Mulkear River. Drone surveys have been carried out to establish the extent of the problem.”

He explained the West Tipperary Giant Hogweed Project is one of Farming for Water EIP’s “bespoke measures” to improve water quality in that river catchment area.

Now that the extent of the spread of the invasive plant has been surveyed, Mr Dundon said Teagasc Agricultural, Sustainability, Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP) advisors and dairy co-op advisors have begun visiting farmers in that area about the project. Michael O’Dwyer of Arrabawn Co-op, for example, is engaging with Arrabawn-Tipperary Co-Op milk suppliers in the area about the eradication project.

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Mr Dundon stressed they need a “good buy-in” from farmers in this area of west Tipperary for the project to be successful. He reported that so far the response has been very positive.

“We have visited a number of farmers who are very receptive to us and are going to do something with us. They know Giant Hogweed is invasive and the dangers associated with the plant.”

Mr Dundon said LAWPRO is currently engaging with Giant Hogweed removal contractors to establish the best way to eradicate the plant.

He explained that Farming for Water EIP funding to remove the plant from farm land will be used directly by LAWPRO to hire such contractors to carry out the work.

The funding for this project does not go directly to farmers. They just have to give permission for the eradication measures to be carried out on their land.

Meanwhile, LAWPRO is engaging with LEADER in relation to securing funding to eradicate Giant Hogweed from non-agricultural lands in this part of west Tipperary. Community Water funding can also be sourced by community groups to remove Giant Hogweed.

Mr Dundon told The Nationalist the West Tipperary Giant Hogweed Project is a pilot scheme. If it’s successful it will be rolled out to other areas in the country blighted by infestations of this plant.

The meeting of Carrick Municipal District councillors was also told the Farming for Water EIP scheme runs until the end of 2027 and is funded by the Department of Housing & Local Government, the Department of Agriculture and managed by Teagasc and Dairy Industry Ireland.

The scheme aims to engage with 15,000 farmers around Ireland by funding a wide range of measures on their farms to improve water quality in streams, rivers and lakes.

Measures range from tree planting in buffer zones, decommissioning sheep dips and growing cover crops to catch water run off to the creation of wetland ponds and exclusion of farm livestock from watercourses.

By the end of April, a total of 2,035 applications for Farming for Water EIP grants had been submitted and 1,032 grants were approved.

Farmers apply for Water for Farming EIP grants through their Teagasc and dairy advisors and receive the approved grant after the improvement works are completed.

Mr Dundon said Tipperary County Council issues Farming for Water EIP grant cheques to farmers all over the country participating in the scheme as the Council administers the scheme for the whole country.

Carrick Municipal District Cathaoirleach Cllr Mark Fitzgerald from Cloneen said feedback he has received from farmers in his community about improving water quality was very positive.

“They want to be more sustainable in how the water is leaving their farm land.”

He believed there will be a big buy in to this scheme from farmers in his community, where there is a Special Area of Conservation.