Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The cutting of the hedges is absolutely the responsibility of the local authority in so far as the public roads are concerned. Responsibility for the cutting of hedges along national primary and national secondary roads obviously lies with the Department and Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII. Kerry County Council is perfectly entitled to set out a programme for hedge cutting on public roads throughout the county and to allocate money in respect of it. As the Deputy is aware, responsibility has been devolved to the local authorities and they having the capacity to raise money, if they so wish, for particular projects. It is important, in terms of visibility, cyclists and where dangerous junctions exist, to have the hedges cut back and to have clear lines of sight and visibility to facilitate safe driving. Everybody agrees with that. The directors of services and engineers can set out the programme for hedge cutting to give proper lines of sight and so on for the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. That is the responsibility of the local authority in Kerry and I am sure it takes its responsibility seriously.

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