Baaad reaction to cost-shearing proposal

USING sheep to keep the grass down in housing estates and green areas around Clare was proposed at the February meeting of Clare County Council but it didn’t get much support.
The proposal was made by Councillor Brian Meaney, who claimed that some British councils are doing the same thing. He was met with some heckles from opposing councillors, who claimed he was only looking for attention. “You’ll get your headlines,” one shouted.
“From some councillors, I’ve been told the motion will be a lamb to the slaughter but it needs to be considered,” said Councillor Meaney, introducing the motion.
Councillor Meaney said that grass-cutting costs the council €500,000 a year and that this money could go elsewhere.
However, in her reply, Nora Kaye, director of services, was against the proposal.
“The vast majority of green areas in housing estates are adjacent to, or in some cases surrounded by, public roads. These green areas are also multi-functional in that they create a sense of space in otherwise dense housing areas.
“They provide play space for children, they can be a focus for communities in estates and they need to be maintained to a reasonable standard if the sense of community is to be maintained or enhanced.
“Using sheep to cut grass would result in serious deterioration appearance-wise, when compared with green areas presently maintained by whatever grass-cutting arrangements are in place; sheep dirt would become a problem and compromise the capacity of green areas as play areas; traffic hazards which don’t exist at present would be created and landscaped surfaces would become damaged and possibly dangerous.
“Unfortunately, the claims culture in this country is much more prolific than in the UK and the likelihood is that the practice suggested would lead to claims for one reason or another,” she said.