Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)

I thank Deputy Stanton for raising this important issue. I am taking this Topical Issue this evening on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, who is unable to be here. I appreciate the opportunity to update Members of the Dáil on the potential dangers posed by dead trees, especially those adjacent to public roads, and the need to remove any trees at risk of falling and causing death or injury, as the Deputy has clearly outlined.

With regard to this specific issue, first, I must highlight that the relevant legislation on the danger of trees on public roads is the Roads Act 1993, which comes under the remit of the Department of Transport. Section 70 of the Roads Act sets out the responsibility of landowners to take all reasonable steps to ensure that trees, hedges and other vegetation growing on their land are not, or could not become, a danger to people using a public road or interfere with the safe use of a public road or the maintenance of a public road. This responsibility includes "the preservation, felling, cutting, lopping, trimming or removal of such tree, shrub, hedge or other vegetation" in question. As such, the implementation of any legislation and the removal of dead or dying trees is a matter for local authorities and landowners and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has no role in this regard.

Second, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government has responsibility at central government level in relation to the local government system generally and for certain specific functional or service areas such as planning, housing and fire services. However, responsibility in relation to policy, funding, legislation and general oversight and accountability at national level in respect of a number of functions of local authorities rests with other relevant Departments. Traditionally, this has applied in aspects of functions such as agriculture, education, health and welfare. This multilateral reporting relationship has extended to embrace functions such as roads and traffic, enterprise support, tourism and certain piers and harbours, as well as more recently rural affairs and environmental matters. In short, local authorities now perform functions across a wide range of sectors that come within the remit of a number of different Departments and central agencies and not just the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. This is the case with regard to the question raised by the Deputy and the legislative and policy framework relating to the dangers of trees on public roads and the protection of the public in this respect.

That was the response that was given to me by the Department, but I completely agree with the points raised by the Deputy. In relation to the responsibility that lies with my Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, my colleague, the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, issued guidance to landowners in terms of their responsibilities about two years ago. I think it was then but I will have to check. The responsibility here, though, primarily rests with landowners. The Deputy referred to dead trees in his contribution, but there are many trees that are technically still alive but that, through the impacts of Dutch elm disease or other diseases, may still have leaves on them at this time of the year but actually be very vulnerable. I know from home that when trees lose a bough, there can be a situation where if water can get into the middle of a tree, it can become very unstable and end up being partly rotten but still technically alive and with leaves on it. It is incumbent on all landowners, then, to recognise their responsibility, especially concerning trees on roads that create this type of hazard, and ensure their trees are sound. They must not only do this via visual inspection but through a more physical inspection too. It is not just a case that a tree may not have any leaves on it and look dead. Other trees may be dangerous as well and landowners do have the primary responsibility in terms of ensuring that a tree in a roadside verge on their land is not a hazard and does not fall on that road and either hit vehicles or act as an obstruction that could be crashed into afterwards.

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