FCI: 'Year-round roadside hedge maintenance needed for road safety'

A change in legislation has been called for by agricultural contractors to allow for the maintenance of all roadside hedges and the removal of all roadside trees throughout the year for road safety reasons.

This would include periods outside the current hedge management season, and made on the grounds that roadside hedges in Ireland account for less than 15% of the total length of hedgerows in the country.

Making the calls, the Association of Farm Contractors in Ireland (FCI) is also requesting that the role of local authorities be strengthened “so that they can carry out their mandate where they have a responsibility to all road users and their safety on all public roads”.

Following calls made yesterday, Tuesday, February 18, for an extension to the current hedge-cutting period, the contractor representative group highlighted that, under the Planning & Development Act, 2000, through the planning process local authorities can ensure that hedgerows are given due regard, with respect to hedgerow conservation and road safety.

The FCI’s request to allow for the maintenance of hedges and trees on public roadsides should apply to all sections of public roads, the group says.

Hedgerows are estimated to cover 3.9% of the Irish landscape or 660,000km length, according to the Climate Action Plan 2019, the FCI noted in a statement on the matter.

Quoting a 2018 report entitled “Managing the Regional and Local Road Network”, by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, the contractor organisation noted that the length of Irish roads came to a combined total of 99,489km.

It was added that one could assume that not all of Irish roads would include sections with roadside hedges.

“This data, when taken together, clearly shows that roadside hedges in Ireland account for less than 15% of the total length of hedgerows in the country, given that not all roadside margins have hedgerows present,” the FCI concluded.