Fitzmaurice calls for legislation targeting road and power cable tree risks

Roscommon-Galway TD Michael Fitzmaurice has made the case for introducing legislation that would seek the removal of trees within 30m of roads or power cables that have the potential to fall.

The Independent Ireland TD said there is a need to introduce further legislation to address the risk posed by trees between 10m and 30m high which could fall during strong winds blocking roads and taking out power lines.

“First of all, let me be very clear, I am talking about trees, not hedgerows. Second of all, we have seen with the recent storm probably well-over €1bn in damage across different sectors,” he said on RTÉ Radio 1’s Claire Byrne show on Thursday.

“Ordinary people – communities - went out after the storm and it was singular trees everywhere that caused problems right along the highways and the byways in rural Ireland.

“We are spending €5bn on broadband in the west of Ireland. It is decimated. There are people still today without a phoneline they need for a panic alarm button What is the reason? Unfortunately, it is because of trees that fell.”

He added that his proposals would require a landowner having to plant two trees for every tree removed along a road or power line.

“We need to make sure we take preventative measures that people are not killed on roads and we sitting on a ticking time bomb at the moment.”

Hedgerow impact

Environmental commentator Sadhbh O’Neill claimed that Fitzmaurice’s proposals were “excessive” and could have negative implications for roadside hedgerows, when also speaking on Radio 1, which the TD denied.

O’Neill acknowledged that parts of the west were left looking “like a bomb that had went off” after storm Éowyn and agreed that: “Dangerous trees at roadside locations should be removed. There is no question about that”.

“When hedgerows aren’t maintained properly and have fallen into decline, very often the trees escape,” she responded.

“Trees that would have been cut are growing up into much taller shrubs and potentially posing a risk.

“The other thing we are kind of forgetting sometimes is that trees naturally age and die and that the more they age, there is a higher risk that they will come down in a storm.”

However, O’Neill disagreed with the Roscommon TD’s proposals for legislation on the matter, stating that it should instead be up to the Oireachtas agriculture committee to hear from stakeholders ranging from farming organisation to hedgerow protection groups before new tree removal requirements are put forward.

“The reality is that the hedgerows in which these trees are growing are the last remaining vestiges of biodiversity in our landscape and they are in decline.

“We estimate that we are losing about 1% of the hedgerows per annum. There is a lot of illegal removal and the practices of coppicing and laying have basically fallen into decline.”

The environmentalist – who made an unsuccessful Seanad bid for the Labour Party in January – leveled criticism at elements of the farming community which she accused of carrying out improper hedgerow management.

“What we are seeing is tractors coming out in the wintertime with flails. They are cutting the hedges down so low that it is impossible to produce flowers, nuts and berries in the autumn.

“And very often the flailing is happening too early in the autumn so that birds and mammals don’t get a chance to feed on the fruit.”