Latton-based IFA chair, Frank Brady has called on financial supports from government to be issued to local authorities in each county to help deal with safety concerns attached to overgrown hedges and trees. Locals have raised their concerns over a number of junctions throughout Cavan and Monaghan which have become a "major hazard." Speaking on today's Joe Finnegan Show, Mr Brady said that in his opinion, "every farmer" is aware of their own responsibility and duty of care to keep roadsides safe and clean. Despite this, he believes that more should be done by Government to help alleviate the costs associated with ash dieback. The IFA Regional Chairman of Ulster North Leinster believes that something must be done soon rather than later to avoid future accidents or fatalities.
"Nobody wants to see someone injured or killed on a stretch of land that they own and or that is caused by overgrown trees," he explained. "The big problem is ash dieback, government imported plants years ago to get ash growing and now we have 98% of the ash in the country dying. That's ok out halfway in the fields but someone is going to get killed very soon on the road by the ash dieback. The government have to realistically look at doing a job of getting rid of most of the ash on the side of the road and don't expect the farmer to do it. It costs at least €2,000 to take down one of the trees because when you cut it down you don't know what way its going to go. I'm looking for the county councils in each county to be funded by government to make sure that roadsides are kept healthy and that no person dies unnecessarily from an accident involving fallen trees."
