Written answers
Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Road Safety
Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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241. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he is aware of the number of landowners nationwide who have trees which are non-commercial plantations impacted by ash dieback adjacent to public roads; if he has assessed the associated potential risk to road safety; if he will consider a scheme to help landowners with the cost of removal of these impacted trees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1394/25]
Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and exchequer funding in relation to the National Roads Programme. Under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 and in line with the National Development Plan (NDP), the operation and management of individual national roads is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. This is also subject to the Infrastructure Guidelines and the necessary statutory approvals.
Section 70 of the Roads Act 1993 sets out the responsibility of landowners to take all reasonable steps to ensure that trees, hedges and other vegetation growing on their land are not, or could not become, a danger to people using a public road or interfere with the safe use of a public road or the maintenance of a public road. This responsibility includes the 'the preservation, felling, cutting, lopping, trimming or removal of such tree, shrub, hedge or other vegetation' in question.
As such, the implementation of the legislation and the management of hedge cutting operations is a matter for local authorities and landowners. My Department has no plans to grant-aid the cutting or removal of trees infected with ash dieback.
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