Database of unsafe trees updated regularly

A Westmeath County Council database of unsafe trees aims to address the difficulties presented by damage following the two storms that significantly impacted the county last winter.

The Municipal District of Mullingar Kinnegad issued 1,246 hedge cutting and dangerous tree notices between December of 2024 and February 2025.

Cllr Denis Leonard previously raised the matter at a meeting of the Municipal District of Mullingar Kinnegad.

Cllr Leonard called on the local authority to compile a report on the progress on the removal of roadside trees: “This is an increasingly significant issue since the last two major winter storms this past winter.”

The Labour Party elected representative sought details of the steps the MD, the county council and government have taken in respect o the ash dieback and other schemes set up to eliminate or pollard dangerous road side trees for the safety of motorists, pedestrians, and power lines.

Cllr Leonard was told the Municipal District of Mullingar Kinnegad have carried out extensive hedge cutting and tree removal along public roads where Westmeath County Council are the landowner.

The local authority regularly assess trees for ash dieback and seek the assistance of a qualified arborist to advise on the best possible action to make these trees safe or to remove them. Councillors have been informed that landowners are responsible for trees and hedges on their land: “There is a database of dangerous trees, this is regularly updated by staff and any reports from the public about dangerous trees is included in it,” a local authority spokesperson told Cllr Leonard.