Richard O'Donoghue: Blames Regulations for Storm Power Outages
Richard O'Donoghue accused government regulations on tree and hedge cutting of causing widespread storm damage and power outages. He told the minister that rules enforced by local authorities prevented necessary cutting, leaving power lines exposed and communities without heat or food.
Regulatory causes of outages
He said a raft of regulations prevented tree and hedge cutting, with local authorities limited to "one cut in which is a metre" and cuts only down to 2.4 metres in height. Those rules, he argued, allowed hedgerows to grow into roads and under power lines, contributing to the countrywide outages during the storm.
Impact on communities and businesses
He described businesses forced to close, staff sent home, households left without heating or food, and livestock moved as a direct consequence of trees falling on lines and roads. He said people remain without power and that outages interrupted travel and safe passage to work, school and hospital.
Responsibility and government response
He rejected the Department of Social Protection view that individuals are solely responsible, insisting the government‟s overregulation is to blame. He pointed to ESB guidance that nothing should be within three to four metres of high power lines and called for a government fund to clear roadways and a task force to manage hedge growth for public safety.
Snowfall warnings and frontline staff concerns
He criticised the lack of a red warning during recent heavy snowfall and said frontline workers were told to take a day‟s holiday pay or lose wages if they did not attend when roads were impassable. He urged action to prevent a repeat of these disruptions while stating he is not against wildlife but prioritises safe passage for people.
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Minister, a lot of the damage that was done in this storm, all the regulations that were put in place were caused by actually government. You can't cut trees, you can't cut hedge grows and all the red tape that this government has put through departments and came down to our local authorities to enforce has caused an awful lot of damage, brought down power lines all around this country, which put businesses out of business, left staff at home, left no food on the tables, left no heating in houses, all because of a regulation that started a government policy. You had ash diebeck here for the last three years telling you how dangerous the ash trees are affecting this country and you have ignored it. Now we have a storm that shows you the stats across the country that trees were the main problem with power outages, which you brought into regulation. Now we have people that are still without power. We have had livestock animals that had to be moved and people came in to help. We have had businesses that had to let off their employees because they had no power. And then you see the DSP believe that it is the responsibility of the person themselves that they are responsible for it. It is actually the government are responsible for it over regulations you have brought in, over tree filling, over hedge cutting. Do you know when the local authorities come out to resurface a road, they are only allowed to cut one cut in which is a metre and they are allowed only to go 2.4 metres high. On a 4 or 5 metre hedge grow it means you have allowed the hedge to grow into the middle of the road which stops people from safe passage to work. It stops people from walking the roads. Heavy goods vehicles have to drive now in the middle of the road because of regulations brought by government which have now caused catastrophe after a storm. So if anything comes out of this, if anything comes out of this, the government has to put a fund together to cut all roadways. One metre in from the road edges and three metres below any power line. Under the ESB guidelines they say you cannot have anything within three to four metres of high power lines because of connectivity in heavy weather. But our government says no, our trees can go straight through it. And when there is a storm it causes outages everywhere. The government now has to have a task force that every hedge grow for the protection of human life. I am not against wildlife. But I am for people to get a safe passage to work, to school, to hospital or frontline staff across the board. I am also very disappointed with the government, from the time we had a snowfall, that there was not a red warning. And we had frontline services that were told, if you do not turn up to work, and we had up to three feet of snow, that you have to take a day's holiday pay or take it out of your wages. That is what we are up against. So if we need to learn anything, all of these hedge grows need to be cut to make sure we have not got the same problems again. If we need to know what the海外 side is going to be done. We have to think there is a barrier from places. We are just in the留言. Now is the hiding moon and the one is going to be bicameral. We have to think there is a barrier from the boat. So if you are not getting to the boat, you will come from the boat. You will see a river from the boat and you are going from the boat. You are going to be on the boat which is going to the boat. I am going to be on the boat.
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