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Irish Independent
26-06-2025
- General
- Irish Independent
Cork Councillors want roadside hedges cut earlier
The Wildlife Act bans the cutting of hedges between March 1 and August 31 to protect wild birds during the nesting and breeding season. However, there are a few exemptions such as when vegetation needs to be cut for road safety reasons. But this week's Cork County Council meeting heard that landowners are wary of using the exemption for fear of being fined. Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Finbarr Harrington proposed that the closed season be pulled back by a month so that hedge-cutting can commence on August 1 instead of September 1. He said the current system isn't working for either road safety or biodiversity. 'If we look at what's happening at the moment is that we're prevented from cutting roadside hedges or verges from March to September. And then they grow onto the road and lorries and buses are contacting us every day. Mirrors are getting broken, windows are getting broken by branches of trees,' the West Cork Councillor said. He said that when the local authority contacts landowners about overgrown hedges, 'they panic a bit. And then they contact their local contractor and they ask them to go down and cut a stretch of road that they own by the road. "And they tell them, cut it well back because they can't cut it again until next September. And the contractor goes down and literally hacks the hedge half to death. So, you have a part of the hedging that's dead basically.' Cllr Harrington said that he was recently contacted by a bus operator whose bus was damaged when a tree hit the mirror, which then smashed the window. The damage cost 4,500 euros to repair. Several Councillors echoed Cllr Harrington's views. 'I'm getting phone calls all the time from lorry drivers, tractor drivers, with mirrors being knocked off of tractors, knocked off of lorries. It's causing a lot of distress to people who are trying to stay in business,' Cllr Bernard Moynihan said. 'We have an awful lot of secondary and very minor roads, which are quite dangerous. When the hedges close in, some roads become single lane. There's no room to pass. And if you can't get those hedges cut, there's accidents waiting to happen. And I know it's important, the birds nesting and all that, but I think human lives are more important,' said Cllr Pat Hayes. Cllr William O'Leary said that in some places school bus routes can't travel on certain roads because of the level of vegetation while Cllr John Collins said that in his area a recent three-car collision was caused by overgrown grass verges impeding visibility. ADVERTISEMENT Cllr Harrington called on the Council to write to the Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O'Sullivan, to ask for a pilot scheme in Cork to trial his proposal of earlier hedge-cutting. 'If we maintain our hedges properly, it's better for biodiversity and it's also better for road users,' he said.
Irish Independent
12-06-2025
- Irish Independent
Bus routes in West Cork failing to meet up or miss connecting with each other by minutes
There, Councillor Finbarr Harrington (Independent) put forward a motion calling for TFI (Transport for Ireland) and Bus Eireann to be invited to a meeting to better co-ordinate their rural services in county Cork; amid general acknowledgement that public transport in rural Ireland has improved significantly in recent years. "Some timetables changed recently, so for example the 7.20am run from Allihies to Castletownbere stopped, which meant anyone getting the 8am bus from Castletownbere to Cork needed to resort to taxi or family again. Also a big issue with many routes is that they never meet, for example the Kilcrohane to Dursey route never meets the Mizen route to Skibbereen. So if we could bring about better co-ordination between all the routes, people could travel throughout Cork County," Cllr Harrington said. "Many of the TFI routes miss the Bus Eireann routes sometimes only by minutes so if we could delay one to meet the other, people could get off one and onto the other. Many parts of West Cork don't have any bus routes, like Coppeen. It can be improved easily and with no extra cost if, for example, one or two days a week the Mizen run could travel through Durrus or the Kilcrohane bus go through Ballydehob one or two days a week. Then anyone on the Mizen [bus] could travel to Bantry, Glengarriff or Beara and vice versa, people on the Beara or Sheep's Head peninsula could travel to Schull, Goleen or Skibbereen and then further on to Clonakilty." The Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan has improved rural public transport with over 150 new and improved bus services launched in towns and villages over the past three years, according to TFI. Cllr Harrington praised the plan, saying it has "changed the lives of many people for the better, especially those living in rural areas. It gives many people, especially elderly who don't have their own transport, an independence and an opportunity to attend appointments without relying on private transport, friends or family, which would have been the norm prior to the service. This transport is greatly appreciated and is great value for money. I think if this service is better coordinated, it has the potential to improve the lives of many people and better promote Cork as the great place it is." Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Daniel Sexton (Independent Ireland) agreed with the motion and said "more joined-up thinking" is needed. He pointed out there are currently no direct routes from Dunmanway to Clonakilty or from Skibbereen to Drimoleague. Cllr Danny Collins (Independent Ireland) also spoke in support of the motion. He said the buses "finish up a little bit early. Nine or 10 pm would be better," which, he said, would also provide a boost for the hospitality sector. He added that "there are big problems with transport in Ballydehob." After the discussion of Cllr Harrington's motion, the West Cork Municipal District agreed to send it forward to Cork County Council's Corporate Policy Group, which will then invite TFI and Bus Eireann to a meeting. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
