I raise the issue of trees that have been planted by local authorities in roadside pits in the 1970s and 1980s. In many instances, they were very welcome at the time, but a lot of the trees planted at that time - over 50 years ago - were clearly the wrong species. Some of them have grown hugely and they have huge root systems. The root systems have uplifted footpaths and private boundary walls. They have invaded front gardens and done damage to driveways on private properties. When residents raise these issues with their local authority, they are given a claim form, told to fill it in and send it to the council.

It is then passed on to Irish public bodies. Irish public bodies routinely denies liability, saying "It has nothing to do with us and there is no negligence to see here". I have a letter from IPB to a constituent, saying that while it notes their allegation that the damage was caused by the roots of a nearby tree, the cause of the cracking was yet to be established definitively. What else could possibly have uplifted a wall? It is utterly ridiculous and dishonest.

Can the Government intervene in this? It is not fair that elderly residents are left to foot the bills for repairing private property damaged by the State.

While I cannot point to something specific to this at the moment, I do know a body of work is being done, looking at trees planted along our roadside. That is specifically following Storm Éowyn and some of the recent storms where the trees have become a danger during the storm, including taking down electricity wires and by causing danger on our roads. Unfortunately, we know a young man was killed in one of the recent storms because of a falling tree. A body of work is being done through the Minister, Deputy O’Brien’s Department, engaging with the ESB and local authorities to assess where trees need to be taken down and that they can be taken down and that that body of work can start as quickly as possible. Whether what the Deputy raised can be included in those discussions or conversations is something I will bring back to the Minister. I think we are all very conscious of the need for us to be clear about where we are planting our trees and the implications that may have, whether on our roads, for our electricity grid or for residents as the Deputy outlined.