'There are too many trees near road network'

Mayo County Council's Director of Services for the Claremorris-Swinford Municipal District has said it is "unacceptable" that the country comes to a standstill after events like Storm Éowyn.

 “I know it was a severe weather event and we probably won’t get another like it in our lifetime, but we can’t allow a repeat of the aftermath of this storm," Tom Gilligan told the Western People.

Mr Gilligan said the council, like everyone else, was aware the storm was coming.

“During a red warning, we wouldn’t have crews or anyone out,” the Director of Services said. “If it was a rain warning, we would send out crews in advance to check that gulleys and culverts were clear. With a wind warning it is slightly different. It is impossible to predict where the most damage is going to be done. All you can do in that situation is to make sure that when lads go out their phones are fully charged, that the equipment is working, that they have everything they need with them and that everyone is where they need to be. 

"But until it happens, you don’t know what trees are going to fall, or where the potential hazards are going to be."

Mr Gilligan said there needed to be a rethink about the number of roadside trees in the county.

"I am always a bit flabbergasted when I see the amount of trees that have been planted close to the road network. This is something that I am going to be bringing to the next roads meeting [of Mayo Co Council]. We are leaving ourselves very vulnerable in situations where there is foliage and trees planted next to road networks. If there is a policy there that we can implement, I think we should implement it.

“When you see the amount of trees planted along the road networks, it is a recipe for disaster and it isn’t safe. There are health and safety concerns and public safety issues that need to be considered. 

"We can’t continue with the way things are at the moment. We can’t be in this situation again. 

"A lot of these trees are planted on private lands and it is up to the landowners to do the right thing. As it is, [the council] have responsibility to make the roads passable again and responsibility for the clear up.,” Mr Gilligan said.

“We were lucky in some ways, that this didn’t happen in summertime when the trees would be in full foliage with leaves because there probably would have been many more trees that would have fallen onto the road if it happened in summer. 

"Another thing we need to be mindful of is that there are probably a lot of trees that have been weakened as a result of the storm. It won’t take nearly as forceful a storm to knock them over the next time. 

"While we have to take responsibility for keeping the roads clear, the ESB and broadband companies need to take responsibility for ensuring that there are no trees adjacent to their lines, and Uisce Éireannhas responsibility to its network as well.” 

Mr Gilligan said that there needs to be a review after all this and the local authorities, the ESB, Uisce Éireann and other stakeholders need to sit down with farming organisations and learn from all the fallout from the storm so that they "can all do better" in the future.

“While we all knew it was coming, the severity of the storm did take some by surprise,” Mr Gilligan said. “We were getting calls constantly throughout the aftermath of the storm and people were very resilient and had great patience, everyone realised that we were all in the same boat; that none of us were immune to the situation.”