Joe Cooney (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The recent storm highlighted the risk to our electrical and utility infrastructure, most obviously within our rural communities, often to our most vulnerable. We have heard calls for electric and fibre broadband cables to be buried underground. There may be merit in undertaking that as a long-term objective in some cases. However, I argue that there is a much simpler and more cost-effective solution. What I propose would have a significant impact on the resilience of a large portion of our power and communications infrastructure across rural Ireland. In the storm's aftermath, while supporting the people most impacted, I came across windblown trees that had taken down multiple lengths of lines and poles. ESB workers have all told me the same thing. I compliment them on the great job they carried out in restoring power as quickly as possible in very difficult conditions. In more than 80% of the power line issues, believe it or not, the cause was trees. One person in the west Clare area told me that of 40 reported line breaks that were responded to, 35 were tree-related in forestry where the setback distances were either totally inadequate or not managed.

Currently, the forestry standards manual provides for a setback corridor that is 20 m wide for 10 kV and 38 kV lines. This means a pathway that is 10 m wide either side of the power lines through forestry where trees are growing to a height of 15 m and 20 m, and more in some cases. Within these setback corridors, trees are not permitted to exceed a height of 3 m. In many cases, even from a casual drive-by, it can be seen these standards are obviously not being managed by some landowners. Even the responsible ones agree the setback distances are inadequate. The figures clearly do not add up. The results are there to be seen in the vast number of premises left without power after the recent storm.

Will the Minister address these issues by reviewing the setback distances to recognise the discrepancy between the height of the trees and the space between them and the power lines; creating a fast-track process to grant landowners a felling licence to clear corridors in a timely manner to prevent history from repeating itself; resourcing the forestry service properly so it can undertake more inspections, stronger enforcement actions and preventative measures such as issuing felling licences more promptly; and, finally, including legislation that enables the ESB or telecom companies to clear set-back corridors in cases where no action is being taken by the landowners and to attach the costs of doing so against the value of the forestry?

This is my first occasion to address the Chamber and outline what communities across rural Ireland have experienced. I am delighted I can use this opportunity to highlight the damage that has been caused and how it continues to impact on them.

We have heard much talk of learning lessons from the recent storm. This is one such lesson, and one I feel we must learn from if we are to effectively prevent such long-term outages in the future. Prevention is always better and much more cost-effective than the cure.

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