Longford County Council to lobby Agriculture Department for ash dieback support

Longford County Council are not in a position to undertake a tree survey to find out how many are infected with the fungal infection ash dieback.

Councillor Mark Casey tabled a motion calling on the council to complete a survey on roadside trees which are rotting due to ash dieback and contact the landowners to ensure that they are removed.
Discussing the proposal the Lanesboro elected representative said: “There were no fatalities due to Storm Debi, but we must take action now to ensure safety for all road users in the future. We saw a lot of ash trees blown down. Longford, along with Roscommon, is one of the areas most populated with ash trees in the country.”

Cllr Casey said it was a pressing issue: “We are going to have to start doing something about it. There are ash trees along the road everywhere you go. They are dying.”
He said the local authority has taken action in the past: “We had a problem with Japanese knotweed and we addressed that. Now we have a problem with ash dieback and we have to work on how to address the issue.”

Cllr Mick Cahill commended his colleague on the motion saying: “It's an excellent motion, we have to work on getting them removed. This, I know, will be a challenge for landowners.”
Cllr Paul Ross said it was a timely motion: “Farmers have to accept responsibility. It's wholly the responsibility of the landowner to take care of any dangerous tree, particularly ash suffering from dieback. This is a very good motion.”

Cllr Paraic Brady, who previously raised the issue at a Granard Municipal District meeting, also supported the motion: “I propose that the Department subsidise taking down the trees under a scheme,” he said, “these are hazardous trees on public roadways. Some of these trees can cost three to four thousand euros to take down. Farmers can't afford to do that.”
Cllr Brady said the Department of Agriculture must support the initiative: “Unless there is a scheme in place then I can't see farmers bearing the brunt of the cost.”

Cllr PJ Reilly and Cllr Turlough McGovern also commended the motion, with Cllr McGovern suggesting the compilation of a survey of trees in the county to ascertain the prevalence of ash dieback.
A Department of Agriculture review on the Ash Dieback situation was completed last October and had 12 recommendations. The disease, which was first identified in Ireland in 2012, has impacted thousands of farmers, with around 80pc of the country’s ash trees dead or dying.
Director of Services with responsibility for Infrastructure, Climate Action and Innovation, Samantha Healy, said there has been no communication from the Department to local authorities on the next step to address the situation.

“We anticipate something is coming,” she said, “Longford County Council regularly communicates with landowners on their obligations under the Roads Act. They have to take reasonable care that trees, hedges, ditches and any vegetation on their lands do not pose a danger to anyone using public roads or footpaths.”

Ms Healy poured cold water on the prospects of a local authority tree survey: “Ash dieback is specifically the responsibility of the Department of Agriculture. We wouldn't have the necessary expertise, or the resources to survey every tree in the county.”
The members agreed to submit correspondence to the Department to see if they could assist in conducting a survey of ash trees as soon as possible.