Mattie McGrath urges temporary extension of hedge-cutting season
Mattie McGrath called for a temporary extension of the hedge-cutting season after recent storm A1 and snowstorms left trees and wires overhanging roads. He said the FCI and others are ready to carry out cutting but risk prosecution if the season ends as scheduled.
McGrath urged extending the permitted hedge-cutting period by at least two weeks, and preferably up to a month, to allow a backlog of work to be cleared and to improve road safety for all users.
He described widespread damage from storm A1 and recent snowstorms - bushes and trees overhang roads and wires have collapsed on top of ditches - creating clear hazards for road users.
McGrath said the FCI asked him and many others to press for the extension, noting the FCI and local contractors came to the fore during the snow and recent storm and are willing and ready to continue cutting, but could be prosecuted if the season ends and they work on restricted days.
He acknowledged biodiversity issues on the other side of the argument and said he will discuss the assessment with the minister. The Taoiseach responded that hedgerow clearing is already happening across the country and that biodiversity matters will be considered in any review.
Request to extend hedge-cutting season
McGrath urged extending the permitted hedge-cutting period by at least two weeks, and preferably up to a month, to allow a backlog of work to be cleared and to improve road safety for all users.
Storm damage and safety risks
He described widespread damage from storm A1 and recent snowstorms - bushes and trees overhang roads and wires have collapsed on top of ditches - creating clear hazards for road users.
FCI and local response
McGrath said the FCI asked him and many others to press for the extension, noting the FCI and local contractors came to the fore during the snow and recent storm and are willing and ready to continue cutting, but could be prosecuted if the season ends and they work on restricted days.
Biodiversity concerns and next steps
He acknowledged biodiversity issues on the other side of the argument and said he will discuss the assessment with the minister. The Taoiseach responded that hedgerow clearing is already happening across the country and that biodiversity matters will be considered in any review.
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Transcript
After the recent storm A1, and indeed the snowstorms, there are bushes and trees overhanging roads everywhere, and there are wires collapsed down on top of ditches, so the FCI have asked me, and many other people have also, it's common sense, to extend the hedge cutting season for at least a month, in view of the ferocious damage that was done by overhanging wires, and it's heading safely for road users as well, to extend, it's supposed to finish on Friday, they couldn't possibly this year with the weather, but they came to the fore and helped out, in the metal style, to help everybody in the snow and in the recent storm in the west of the country, more so, but they're willing and ready now to continue doing their work, but they can't do it, if this law come in and they'll be prosecuted, if they're cutting the hedges on Saturday, and never was it more needed to allow common sense to prevail here, and allow the hedge cutting season to be extended, just for two weeks at least, or a month hopefully, to allow the backlog to be cleared, and make a road safer for all road users. Thank you. Time is up, Taoiseach. Yeah, I think the, first of all, I mean, I'm going around that, there's a lot of hedge cutting going on at the moment, there's a lot of clearing going on by local authorities, by contractors, and so on, it's evident across the country, and I think the, on the other side of the coin, there's issues, as you know, around the biodiversity and all of those issues, I've given rise to this, and there are significant issues too, but I'll talk to the minister in terms of what their assessment of it is. Thank you.