Kerry councillors highlight the potential ‘devastating effect’ of ash dieback in a storm

By Alastair Tibbs, The Kerryman

A Kerry councillor has highlighted the large numbers of dead trees along the sides of the county’s roads, claiming it could have a “devastating effect” during a storm.

Councillor Niall Kelleher said ash dieback has left many roadside trees dead and vulnerable to falling onto roads in high winds.

Ash dieback is a serious disease affecting Ireland’s ash trees, caused by an invasive fungal pathogen originating in Asia. It arrived in Europe in the early 1990s and now covers most of the natural ash trees on the continent.

Cllr Kelleher said: “There’s a significant amount of ash trees that are completely dead along the sides of our road. When we reach a peak storm, it will have devastating effect people travelling on our roads.”

Since arriving on the island in 2012, ash dieback has spread and is prevalent throughout the country. Trees that have succumbed to the disease often remain standing in a weakened state, posing potential hazards during adverse weather conditions.

Councillor Brendan said the issue is “way worse than people actually realise”, asked the council to make people aware of the risk.

He said infected trees were hard to identify prior to close inspection and that he had been involved in cutting ash on a public road to remove the hazards.

“There’s no warning and a big tree comes down. They just snap completely and break open. From a road safety point of view, I would ask that during the cutting season it’s important to capitalize on it now,” he said.

Kerry County Council said they would follow-up on the issue.