Galway farmers push council pilot scheme for dangerous roadside trees

Farmers in Co. Galway have formally called on Galway County Council to run a pilot scheme taking council responsibility for traffic management and oversight when landowners remove dangerous roadside trees. The demand came out of a meeting in Loughrea on Wednesday, November 5, organised by the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA), and it lands amid a sharp rise in hazardous trees driven by recent storms and the spread of ash dieback (a fungal disease killing ash trees across Ireland).

The stakes are liability as much as safety. Farmers at the meeting voiced concern about their legal responsibilities where mature trees on their land overhang public roads, and about who carries the risk when felling work affects traffic.

What did the council advise?

Conrad Harley of Galway County Council gave landowners practical guidance on safe removal. His core advice:

• Engage registered, reputable contractors for tree felling — never do it informally;
• Wherever possible, carry out the work from within the farm rather than from the public road;
• Where work impacts a public road, an approved traffic management plan must be in place to protect both workers and road users.

That last point is the crux. A traffic management plan (the formal setup of signage, diversions and supervision for roadworks) is costly and complex for an individual farmer to arrange, and it is exactly the burden the proposed pilot would shift to the council.

Why insurance dominated the discussion

Willie Storan of FBD Insurance, one of Ireland's largest farm insurers, outlined the insurance and liability issues facing farmers undertaking felling work. His message was blunt: adequate cover is non-negotiable. Farmers must check that their liability cover is appropriate for tree-felling activities and fully understand their responsibilities before any work begins.

The meeting also heard from local county councillors, and the role of An Garda Síochána (Ireland's national police) was discussed from both a farm safety and wider public safety angle — a signal of how far the risk extends beyond the farm gate.

What would the pilot scheme do?

Galway IFA county chair Micheál Haverty, who chaired the meeting, wants the council to establish a project under which it would manage traffic and oversee the safe removal of dangerous trees identified by landowners across the county. Haverty argues the scheme would offer a practical, coordinated approach to a problem he says is becoming increasingly serious for farmers and rural communities.

It would need money. Haverty said the initiative requires financial support from central government to be delivered effectively — meaning the scheme's fate rests with Dublin, not Galway.

The meeting went further than one county. Attendees agreed on the need for a national lobbying campaign to secure adequate funding and support for a coordinated approach to dangerous roadside trees across Ireland.

What should farmers watch next?

Two things. First, Galway County Council's response to the pilot proposal — whether it formally considers taking on traffic management duties. Second, the shape of the national lobbying campaign and whether it wins government funding commitments. With storm damage accumulating and ash dieback spreading, the number of at-risk trees along rural roads will keep climbing. Farmers facing overhanging trees now should follow Harley's checklist: registered contractors, work from the field side where possible, and verified insurance cover before the first cut.