Overgrown hedges to be tackled by community groups

A new scheme looks set to be adopted in Co Cork to tackle overgrown roadside hedges which are causing serious road safety concerns and a significant amount of damage, especially to buses and lorries.

To help combat this the county council is looking at setting up a similar scheme to one operating in Clare which will provide grants to community organisations for hedge-cutting.

A recent Environment Special Purposes Committee (SPC) meeting of the county council heard hauliers and Bus Éireann representatives saying that wing mirrors in particular are getting broken off high-sided vehicles and they can cost hundreds of euro to replace.