Minister for Housing James Browne has said that the hedge-cutting season may only be extended by a change in primary legislation, of which he was no power over.

This comes as TDs called for a derogation to be able to cut roadside trees and hedges that are near power lines in apprehension of another weather event such as storm Éowyn.

Section 40 of the Wildlife Act prohibits the cutting of vegetation from 1 March to 31 August.

In response to a parliamentary question from Fine Gael TD Frankie Feighan this week, Minister Browne said that he has no power or discretion to vary these dates.

"The dates for the cutting of hedges are set down in primary legislation. The season may only be extended by primary legislation enacted by the Oireachtas.

Provision

"There is provision in the legislation for certain exemptions in respect of cutting vegetation in the ordinary course of agriculture or forestry, for health and safety reasons, the destruction of noxious weeds and for cutting roadside hedges for road safety reasons," he said.

Minister Browne added that the provisions of section 40 do not extend to dead vegetation, for example uprooted trees.

In looking for a derogation, Fine Gael TD Paula Butterly said that one of the major challenges in restoring power in the aftermath of storm Éowyn was the quantity of trees that had fallen.

“The issue of the proximity of trees to broadband cables and parts of the electricity grid must be addressed before the next storm.

"Storms don’t wait to see is there a ban on felling trees or cutting hedges back.

"We need to look at restricting the height and quantity of trees around power lines and this can only be achieved by allowing ESB to

collaborate with local authorities, landowners and licensed tree surgeons to fell or cut back any trees in close proximity to electrical

wires, buildings and roads, irrespective of whether they are healthy or not," she said.

Grant scheme

In a separate parliamentary question this week, Fianna Fáil TD Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Transport to consider introducing a small grant for landowners and farmers to cut roadside hedges and trees to ensure the safety of all road users given increasing strong winds and storms.

He suggested a grant of €60/km for hedges and €100/km to cut roadside trees.

However, Minister Darragh O'Brien said that the implementation of such legislation and the management of hedge-cutting operations is a matter for local authorities and landowners.

"I am not in a position to introduce such a grant scheme," he said.