Calls for hedge-cutting season to begin earlier 

A local councillor has urged Minister of State Michael Healy-Rae to resume the hedge and tree-cutting season a month earlier because of the impact of Storm Éowyn.

The hedge-cutting season in Ireland currently runs from September 1 until the end of February but Fien Gael Cllr John O’Hara said he believes August is a reasonable time to resume hedge-cutting. He added this would be necessary to ensure public safety with trees still overhanging onto roads following Storm Éowyn earlier this year.

“There will be no birdeen left in the tree in August so I consider it a good time to start this up again,” he told last week’s meeting of the Ballina Municipal District. “This would be for the betterment of everyone out there. Some innocent child or a tourist will be killed by a falling tree, the situation is deadly dangerous.”

The Bonniconlon-based councillor raised the issue as a notice of motion at the meeting and asked it be raised again at the next full meeting of Mayo County Council on April 14.

Cllr O’Hara, who works for the ESB, added that Mayo is one of the county’s worst affected by falling trees following the devastating storm on January 24th.

His comments were supported by Independent Cllr Marie-Therese Duffy who said the situation with trees remains dangerous two months on from the storm.

The meeting also received correspondence from the Department of Transport in response to a query seeking clarification on where the responsibility lies for legislation around hedge-cutting.

The Department said the Roads Act 1993 sets out the responsibilities of landowners for maintaining trees, hedges and other vegetation to the extent they do not endanger users of a public road. Therefore, the implementation of legislation and management of hedge-cutting operations is a matter for local authorities and landowners.