Report Paul Murphy
Overgrown trees at The Rise, Dunshaughlin are blocking light, encroaching on properties and damaging footpaths, a Fianna Fail councillor told a meeting of Ratoath Municipal District today. Cllr Caroline O’Reilly asked Meath County Council to address the problem as a matter of urgency. Officials replied that a register of complaints or queries in relation to trees is held in the municipal district office.
The register then forms part of a list which is put out to tender to a minimum of tree arborists. An arborist has been approached for this year to survey and issue a report for approximately 200 trees at various locations throughout the district. Thirteen trees at The Rise are included in the list for this year. Once surveyed the trees generally fall into three categories – fell, prune or no action. A tender is then issued to a minimum of three qualified tree surgeons to carry out the works as per the report, the official said.
In a second item raised by Cllr O’Reilly she called on the council to develop and implement a programme to repair and make safe footpaths damaged by oversized tree roots in housing estates across the municipal district with priority to areas where these “trip hazards” presented the greatest risk to residents.
Officials replied that the local engineer engaged with councillors annually in relation to proposed works in housing estates. These works may include repairs to surfacing, footpaths, ironmongery etc and is funded from a specific housing estate budget. Any repair works out of this is housing estates is added to general maintenance lists. “The district does not have the resources to undertake tree surveys to the approximately 90 estates within the district”, the officials told Cllr O’Reilly,
A query was raised by Independent Cllr Yvonne Everard who said that a map provided from the council for Ratoath area for Ordinance Survey Ireland shows areas built up on OSI largescale revisions of the year 2004-2005 and were only being developed now. “Why is this when other areas that were under developed are showing as undeveloped?” she asked.
Officials replied that the councillor’s question refers to a publication by Ordinance Survey of Ireland which was printed in 2006. The map used in this publication referenced is a “Discovery Raster Map” which is designed at a scale for leisure activities, landscape features and tourism as opposed to “Vector Maps” which are used for more technical mapping, they said.
