A SIX FIGURE sum was spent on hedge cutting in West Clare, last year according to a senior engineer in Clare County Council.
There are 307km of regionally important roads in the West Clare Municipal District, split almost fifty fifty between the Kilrush local electoral area and the Ennistymon local electoral area.
In a proposal before the West Clare MD, Cllr Michael Shannon (FF) called for a review of hedge cutting of regional roads.
Senior executive engineer, Alan Kennelly explained, “We prioritise on a case-by-case basis, rather than hedge trimming entire categories or sections of road. The cost to the Kilrush LEA in 2024 was a six-figure sum”.
He outlined, “Legislation is quite clear, hedge cutting should be kept to a minimum. It allows for work necessary for road safety, but it remains clear that the majority of hedge cutting should be carried out between September and February”.
As per the Council’s hedge cutting policy adopted in June 2011, hedge and verge trimming will be carried out as required on regional roads funded by the allocation specified in the Annual Roadworks Programme and normally facilitated by the Council’s Own Resources.]
Kennelly added, “Clare County Council has a Community Hedge Cutting Grant Scheme. This scheme encourages a joint approach with communities, groups of local residents and landowners for the cutting of hedges. The scheme provides a grant of €50 per km of roadside hedge attended to. The minimum length of road network per application is 5 km. As previously noted, Kilrush LEA spent a six-figure sum last year on hedge cutting – much greater than our allocation under the 2024 Schedule of MD Works and funded from our own resources. I estimate the cost of hedge cutting an additional 300km of road at €100k to €120k, money that is simply not available from our Own Resources”.
He said, “Increasingly when we carry out hedge cutting, we get two distinct reactions from the public, ‘Thank you for cutting the hedges’ or ‘You are in breach of legislation, you are cutting hedges out of season, please stop’. We have to try and balance the concerns of both groups, and I do not think it is practical for the reasons outlined to cut approx. 600km of roadside hedgerow on our regional roads in their entirety each year”.
