Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I concur with Deputy Mathews that this is a much more common problem than many people would believe. Reading the petitions one could conclude that it is a minor and unimportant issue when the opposite is the case. As Deputy Mathews noted, the issue of safety arises. I am aware of numerous incidents of people being badly hurt by falling trees and branches, including, the unfortunate case of a neighbour of mine, a man with a young family, who was killed by a falling tree while driving. That case occurred in the 1980s.