Hedge trimming policy comes under fire
There isn’t a bird stupid enough to build a nest on the side of a country road in in County Galway.
So said Malachy Noone, a Fianna Fáil Councillor, as he pleaded with officials of Galway County Council to begin hedge trimming in August.
Currently it is an offence to cut hedgerows during the nesting season from March 1 to August 31.
However, Cllr Noone said it was his understanding that the Government had passed new legislation permitting the cutting of hedgerows during August.
He called on the County Council to implement that legislation this summer not next year.
“There is no bird in their right mind that would make a nest on the side of the road,” said Cllr Noone.
“There’s enough trees and hedges in the fields” and he added that there was “too much traffic”, which deters birds from nesting along roads.
Cllr Noone, singling out a recent case of a woman being knocked down in Cavan due to overgrown hedgerow, said Galway County Council would save lives by hedge trimming along the side of roads.
Senior engineer Paula Higgins revealed that the county Council “got hit on social media” last week when it cut hedges in preparation for road works. They also received complaints at County Hall about hedge cutting during nesting season, she said.
Cllr Noone responded that the Council shouldn’t be worrying about what people say on social media. “Social media ruins people’s lives,” he said, before adding that the Council should be listening instead to elected members, who were voted in by the people.
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