Farmers may lose payments or face court action over overgrown hedges

CONFLICTING warnings have emerged about the need for farmers in East Clare to cut overgrown hedges on their land in the interest of road safety.

Councillor Pat Hayes has revealed that land owners run the risk of having environmental payments due under the Rural Environmental Protection Scheme (REPS) cut if they chop hedgerows during the closed summer season from March to September.
However, senior executive engineer, Hugh McGrath has warned farmers who consistently ignore council letters advising them of their obligations to cut their hedges under the Roads Act will face the prospect of court action.
Addressing councillors at a recent Killaloe Electoral Area meeting, Mr McGrath stated the council currently has the information on its own database on what action, if any, a landowner had taken on local authority letters issued over the last 12 months.
Councillor Hayes and Councillor Pat Burke requested the council to carry out hedgecutting at all junctions in East Clare to reduce the number of accidents due to poor sight lines.
The former mayor of Clare believes there are plenty of places for birds to nest because farmers are no longer removing the number of internal hedges compared to previous years.
While farmers had taken an active approach in East Clare by trimming hedges after receiving letters from the council, Councillor Hayes insists this approach should be replicated in other parts of the county, with Coillte and other private forestry owners.
He pointed out there were a lot less overgrown trees and hedges in West and North Clare where the landscape was much different than in East Clare.
“Roads are closing in due to overgrowth in some parts of East Clare. Road safety has to be made a priority, particularly at junctions. You can’t see around the bend on some narrow country roads because of the overgrowth.
“The council should continue its policy of notifying land owners it is their responsibility to trim overhanging hedges and trees.
“Any farmer who gets a council letter on hedgecutting should contact the council to seek advice on the best course of action. I get my hedges cut in August and September but they still need to be cut again during the summer.
“This is a big issue for a lot of East Clare people. I have had a number of representations about road safety, which has to take precedence when hedges or overhanging trees need to be cut,” he explained.
Councillor Pat Burke asked how Galway County Council had the funding to cut hedges along all regional roads in East Galway.
Mr McGrath replied he didn’t know. He noted Clare County Council prioritised hedgecutting from its much reduced budget based on maintaining visibility sight lines at junctions and bends of regional roads, strategic roads linking villages with national and regional roads and approaches to towns and villages not less than 100m outside speed limit signs.
It also prioritised hedges along school bus and Clare Accessible Transport routes and other locations where attention was urgently needed to facilitate road safety and usability, subject to the availability of funding.
Acknowledging East Clare was one of the biggest electoral areas in the county with one of the largest hedgerows, he explained the council prioritised uncut hedgerows on important roads in May or June.
Councillor Pascal Fitzgerald wondered how the council had left a country road around a bend near Ardnacrusha uncut.
Mr McGrath replied that in principle, the council shouldn’t be doing any hedgecutting and were merely filling in the gaps where land owners weren’t responsible.
Councillor Burke stressed landowners should trim the side of hedges on minor roads fronting on to their own land and advised them the best time to do this work was early in the year.