IT IS time for less talk and more work when it comes to reviewing forestry standards, a Clare TD has said.
Referencing the impact of the recent storms in his maiden Dáil speech, Joe Cooney TD (FG) said trees were the cause for more than eighty percent of the issues with power lines following Storm Éowyn.
He stated, “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 metres wide for 10 kV and 38 kV lines. This means a pathway that is 10 metres wide either side of the power lines through forestry where trees are growing to a height of 15 metres and 20 metres, and more in some cases.
“Within these setback corridors, trees are not permitted to exceed a height of three metres. 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”.
Cooney called on the Minister for Agriculture to review the setback distance to recognise the discrepancy between the height of the trees and the space between them and the power lines.
This he said would create “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”.
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and the Marine, Michael Healy Rae (IND) said Cooney “has worn a path to Agriculture House and has been on to me and my officials”.
He stated, “As Deputy Cooney correctly stated, the existing legislation and corridors have failed, which is simply not good enough. Last week, the Ministers, Deputies Heydon and Darragh O’Brien, and I met senior people from the ESB to discuss the corridors that are in place and what needs to be created in the future to ensure that situations such as we had will not occur again. It will involve, we imagine, changing legislation. Everybody believes the ESB has far-reaching legislative powers to go into land and do what is required to protect the power lines but it does not. New legislation potentially needs to be brought in. It would, of course, go through the Houses of the Oireachtas swiftly as everybody would support it because it would be for the betterment of the people of the country”.
In response, Deputy Cooney commented, “I hope action will be taken sooner rather than later. There is also a serious issue as regards Internet connections and phone lines. I hope further consultation will take place with National Broadband Ireland and Eir because I am aware of businesses and residents in certain parts of my county and the west where phone lines and Internet services are still out. That is not good enough in this day and age. We are all well aware of the importance of Internet and phone lines, especially for elderly people. I am aware of one elderly woman of 92 years of age who has a mobile phone but, unfortunately, no network cover and her landline is not working. Luckily enough, the neighbours are calling to help her out, but she is now almost five weeks without those services”.
Cooney added, “As far as I am concerned, now is the time for less talk and more action. Consumers do not want to have to experience the same difficulties they have experienced over the past five weeks. After the recent storm, the lessons have been learned. It is now time to deliver”.
