Limerick council removes trees 'for health and safety reasons'

COUNCIL staff have removed almost 75 trees across the last five years, it has been revealed.

At the metropolitan district meeting, Social Democrats councillor Shane Hickey-O’Mara sought a breakdown of the number of trees that have been “purposely felled”.

In a response, senior engineer Aidan Finn wrote: “The council would like to advise that any trees felled over the last five years were for health and safety reasons. These trees would have been identified as either dead trees or trees in serious decline showing structural weakness. In addition, trees would be removed which would have fallen as a result of a storm.”

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He gave a list of areas where trees have been “removed” over the last half-decade.

The area with the largest number of tree removals was in Castleconnell, where 43 were removed due to storm damage.
Seven were taken from Sarsfield Park in the Ballinacurra area of the city.

Nearby, structural damage saw one tree removed from the Baggot Estate.

Another in the same park was removed due to ash-dieback, a fungal disease which can lead to the death of trees.

Storm damage claimed a single tree in Lifford Avenue.

Three dead trees were removed from Sheelin Road in Caherdavin.

Five trees which were dead were taken from Merval Drive in Mayorstone.

Storm damage sparked the removal of one tree from Ted Russell Park, Greystones respectively, and two from Park Canal.

The remainder of the removals were in Newcastle West and Athea.