The government has been urged today (Tuesday, June 24) to revisit the current seasonal ban on hedge cutting by a Cork TD because of road safety concerns.

Cork TD, Michael Collins and Galway County Councillor, Declan Geraghty, have warned that overgrown hedges on rural roads "pose a growing threat to road users".

"Hedges are so thick and overgrown in parts that trucks and vans are being forced into the centre of narrow rural roads, with wing mirrors regularly smashed and signage obscured. It’s a safety crisis hiding in plain sight," Deputy Collins said.

The Cork TD has also called for an urgent national hedge cutting programme to be implemented on rural roads to protect the safety of all drivers.

"I’ve had calls about the same thing from every county I’ve visited. This is national, and it needs a national response," Deputy Collins added.

The TD highlighted that Galway County Councillor, Declan Geraghty, has specifically pinpointed dangers in his locality, particularly in relation to blocked sightlines at junctions and uncut hedges hiding traffic from view.

The Galway councillor has warned that "motorists are taking their lives in their hands" by trying to edge their way onto main roads because of overgrown hedges.

Deputy Collins has now called for local authorities to tackle overgrown hedgerows because “public safety must come first.”

He said: “We hear parties talk about biodiversity and it is possible to maintain our hedgerows for wildlife and for heritage, but we can’t do it by turning a blind eye to the risks people face every day on rural roads.

The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA), yesterday (Monday 23) also warned that “a lack of hedgerow management” is causing road traffic accidents on rural roads.

The IRHA continued by saying that hauliers are losing two mirrors a week in their fleets, costing them €1,000 due to "mismanagement of our roadside vegetation."