The Department of Agriculture is to increase the fines on local authorities, building developers and farmers who flout the law regarding the control of ragwort.
Ragwort is a yellow weed that has widely spread on motorways and lands in recent years.
However, Minister of State, Mary Wallace, said she would prefer to eliminate the weed through persuasion and co-operation.
Ragwort is a dangerous weed, is poisonous when eaten by cattle and horses and is banned under the Noxious Weeds Act.
Everybody accepts that there has been a huge increase in the spread of ragwort. A decline in sheep numbers, who can eat it, is said to be partly to blame.
The increase in building and construction is also a cause - as ragwort grows easily when soil is disturbed.
The law dealing with ragwort dates back to the 1930s. The maximum fine for breaches is only €25.
Now the Department of Agriculture is undertaking a review of these penalties - the new minimum fine could be €1,000.
Farmers also face a reduction in their EU subsidy if they do not comply. Some local authorities have been cutting the weed recently.
But next year, Minister Wallace wants an all out effort from everyone concerned, with herbicides being sprayed in spring.
