Leitrim councillors call for penalties for forestry companies who leave trees 'hanging over public roads'

Leitrim councillors have struck out at forestry companies who are leaving trees "hanging out over public roads" with Cllr Roisin Kenny saying that they should be hit with penalties where trees need to be removed. 

Cllr Kenny said that in one particular area "every couple of weeks, the road was blocked and sometimes locals went out with chainsaws and cut up the trees but on other occasions, the council had to send out a crew; that has happened on that road at least five times since the storm. If the council have to do that more than twice in one section of forestry, can we then get them to be charged. It's affecting the budget that local people can't get their own road done but it's Ok for the forestry company. I think it's very wrong. Anyone can see that the trees are going to fall out on that road. Maybe if there were financial penalties, they would take down the outer rows of trees."

Cllr Paddy O'Rourke asked why, when forestry is felled, the outer row of hardwood trees is sometimes left. "There are blatant examples of this in Cloone and Aughavas where they tall hardwood are left on the fringe and the sitka spruce; is there anyway we could develop a policy on this. If you have 100 acres of sitka spruce growing thickly set and removed them, it doesn't take Einstein to know what will happen."

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The official response said that the district office can issue letters to land owners where the trees on their properties are causing an issue to the road issue. 

District engineer Emma Donohoe replied: "If you identify a list of where these trees are, I can go back to the forestry company and write to them and asked them to deal with any trees that could potentially fall onto the road."

Cllr O'Rourke said that on one occasion, it "took them 18 months to come back and cut the outer fringe and only that they did, they would definitely have fallen on houses last January."

Director services, David Minton, said that review is being carried out "on repeat offenders in relation to hedge cutting and trees in the context of Storm Amy" and "enforcement" will be an element of this approach.

Cllr Brendan Barry welcomed this before adding: "The council engineer has worked hard to ensure that roadside hedges are left safe when clear felling is taking place and hopefully that is the policy going forward on all clear felling in the county."

Cllr Gary Prior supported the motion and note that "300 letters have been sent within the county so on that basis alone, it is surely a problem that we have with trees and the non compliance of hedge cutting in the county."

Cllr O'Rourke suggested sending registered letters saying that "maybe people might take a bit more heed and indicate the seriousness of the situation."

Mr Minton said that policy can be developed through the relevant SPC that "we are all in agreement with to treat that and also need need standards set out as to what cutting a hedge looks like."