A member of the Seanad is calling for the government to allow the owners of ash trees infected with ash dieback to be allowed fell the trees were they present a danger to road users.
Senator Victor Boyhan, who is a member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, urged stakeholders to form a plan to allow the felling of infected ash trees on road sides.
According to Boyhan, ash dieback is now “a very serious public safety issue, along transport corridors, motorways, and local road networks”.
“I am calling for farm representative organisations, landowners, the NRA [National Roads Authority], and local councils to work together in assessing boundary lines on the national and local road network to ensure affected ash crumpling near roadways are felled and removed, to ensure the safety of road users.”
Ash dieback is expected to lead to the decline and death of a very significant number of roadside trees over the next decade.
“Clearly, we have a big problem with ash dieback in forestry. The diseases is spreading rapidly, so a county-by-county action plan needs to be agreed,” Boyhan said.
He added: “To ensure the safety of workers and motorists, the works will have to be carried out requiring some lane closures and temporary traffic management in place. It will be a challenge.
“A [roadside] tree management strategy offers an opportunity to not only remove potentially hazardous trees, but also to improve the biodiversity and the resilience of our road network. In a crisis there are opportunities.
“Ash dieback is complex, so a strategy based on the safety of road users must be a priority for all involved,” the senator added.
Boyhan called for farmers and landowners to be paid an agreed “eco-premium” to carry out ash dieback management plans.
“Consent, guidelines, and a funding package need to be clearly understood and agreed with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and other state agencies, to get this important work underway,” he said.
Boyhan told Agriland that he will be setting out a proposal in more detail when the Oireachtas agriculture committee meets after the Easter parliamentary recess.