'Laois landowners are responsible for trees at risk of falling, not us' says Council

Following the destruction left in the wake of Storm Éowyn and Storm Darragh, many Laois roads were left impassable due to fallen trees and debris. 

A Laois County Councillor has called on the Council to instruct all landowners to survey all boundary ditches to public roads making sure that trees must be cut and made safe for all patrons using public roads.

Fine Gael Cllr John King has said that the implementation of this motion would mean that "a tree falling now is no longer an act of God, and is the responsibility of the landowner."

Pictured: A Storm Éowyn clean-up operation in Laois.

"Following Storm Éowyn, as I was coming here today through Abbeyleix, I saw there are still a lot of wires going through the trees," said Cllr King.

"Look at the amount of time we were all without power. Climate change is here, we have to accept it," he said.

"Our storms are going to be much worse, and land owners will have to take some responsibility. The Council can only do so much," he said. 

Read More: In Pictures: Trail of damage left through Laois by Storm Eowyn

"Certainly, falling trees are a danger, and I'm stressing again that the Department of Agriculture can play a role here as well. No tree should be down in public roads," Cllr King said.

"I don't know who is going to do this,  but what we have experienced the last couple of weeks, that can't go on again," he said.

"So I am asking everybody to do their own bit. The Department of Agriculture, Laois County Council and landowners can work together to make Ireland a safer place, and not have the difficulty of clearing trees from the roads," Cllr King finished.

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Mr. Paul McLoughlin, Senior Engineer with Laois County Council, has said that the onus of maintaining roadside trees falls to landowners, under Section 70 of the Roads Act 1993.

“The owner or occupier of land shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that a tree, shrub, hedge or other vegetation on the land is not a hazard or potential hazard to persons using a public road and that it does not obstruct or interfere with the safe use of a public road or the maintenance of a public road," Mr McLoughlin quoted.

"Laois County Council have over the last number of years published notices in the local press and on the Council website Laois.ie advising landowners of their obligation to manage and maintain trees on their lands adjacent to the public road," he said.

"Laois County Council will repeat these public notices along with a social media campaign to reinforce the legal obligations on all landowners," Mr McLoughlin finished.

This motion was tabled at the February sitting of Laois County Council's Borris-in-Ossory / Mountmellick Municipal District.