Attention Kilkenny landowners - Cut hedges to improve road safety

The Road Safety Authority (RSA), the County and City Management Association (CCMA) and the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) have come together to call on landowners to cut their hedgerows to ensure they are not causing a road safety hazard.

Hedges can be cut between September 1 and the end of February.
Under the Wildlife Act 1976, hedge-cutting is prohibited from 1 March to 31 August, except in cases where overgrowth poses a road safety hazard.

Properly maintained hedges ensure vulnerable road users are not forced onto the road by overgrown hedges. It additionally affords motorists a clear view of what is in front of them or around a bend, especially on rural roads in the case of sightlines at junctions or obstructions to road signs.

“We all have a role to play in making roads safer, and landowners must take responsibility. Inaction could endanger lives,” said Sarah O’Connor, Director of Partnerships and External Affairs with the RSA.
Landowners should act now to ensure compliance and prevent potential enforcement actions by local authorities.
Barry Kehoe is Chair of the County and City Management Association (CCMA) Transport, Infrastructure and Networks Committee and is Chief Executive of Westmeath County Council.
“Local authorities have an important role to ensure that roadside verges are maintained and that local road safety issues are dealt with, whilst also recognising the importance of hedgerows and biodiversity,” he said.
“We are also calling on members of the public to report road safety issues caused by overgrowth to their local authority, which can then contact the landowner.”
Results from a 2024 Ipsos B&A survey of professional drivers, commissioned by the RSA, found that 75% of 620 HGV drivers surveyed reported overgrown roadside hedgerows to be challenging while driving.