Uncut hedges on the Ring of Kerry a ‘disaster’ says councillor

By Alastair Tibbs, The Kerryman

Roadside hedges on the Ring of Kerry remain uncut as concerns grow over the traffic safety on the hazardous road.

Overgrown vegetation has narrowed the already slim roads, with a cycle lane on the peninsula now completely unusable.

Cutting hedges and other vegetation that is not on agricultural or forestry land is forbidden under the Wildlife Act 1976 between the dates of April 15 and August 31.

The intention is to protect nesting birds and other animals during breeding season.

However, fast growing vegetation in Kenmare has created a situation which Cllr Dan McCarthy has described as a “total and utter disaster”.

While the council is responsible for clearing roundabouts and junctions, Mr McCarthy said many of the private landowners had not attended to their roadside hedges yet.

Cllr Teddy O’Sullivan echoed Cllr McCarthy’s comments, saying that generally local farmers were co-operating, but holiday homes and unregistered landowners were often at fault.

Mr McCarthy has been sending out letters to landowners to ask them to cut the hedges on their property but has struggled to get them to comply.

“I’ve sent out a good few of them now in the last few months and a lot of them have come back that they don’t own the property anymore or there’s some other issue, like the letter doesn’t get delivered. It can be very frustrating,” he said.

A member of An Garda Síochána had privately contacted Mr O’Sullivan to express his concerns over safety on the road. The extra few inches of visibility from well-tended hedges could help save lives the Garda said.

He implored land owners to bring back the vegetation significantly to prevent the same situation next year.

Mr O’Sullivan said he personally knew of one incident where a local woman had damaged her new car by backing up onto a stone obscured by an overgrown hedge.

The cycle path between Castlecove and Caherdaniel is also completely unusable, councillors claim.

Fast growing vegetation has covered the 2km-long lane, making the busy tourist road more hazardous for cyclists.

“It’s totally overgrown and you can’t even see it in places. It’s a major safety issue and an embarrassment as well,” said Cllr O’Sullivan.