INDEPENDENT Ireland councillor Tommy Hartigan is a man for the birds and the bees, but not at the cost of putting road users in danger.
The Limerick Post met Cllr Hartigan at Hegarty’s Cross in Pallaskenry, where he outlined the poor sightlines for traffic merging onto the N69. On a quick drive around the West Limerick village, he showed me where long grass and overgrown hedges are hampering motorists’ views at many of the junctions and roadsides in the area.
The Adare-Rathkeale representative tells me that he recently completed the Green Cert Programme at Salesian Agricultural College in Pallaskenry, and has even raised pheasants and ducks in his younger years.
“My father would have been involved in, and myself as well, in conservation. It was always driven into me, like this isn’t about going out and just hunting, it’s about trying to help a balance in wildlife, and that’s lost on a lot of people,” he said.
Cllr Hartigan insists that he is all for biodiversity – “where it belongs” – but finds it funny when people talk about the wildflowers at the sides of the roads.
“That’s great, you’re after helping the bees there, but where do you think they end up? The windscreen of a car or a truck,” Cllr Hartigan says.
“I’m all for creating more biodiversity spaces but the longer the grass grows at the side of the road, the more dangerous it becomes for motorists – it’s ridiculous. I mean, what do I say if there is an accident and I go to a funeral? Sorry, we didn’t cut it sooner, but you know the birds and the bees needed an extra month.”
A Pallaskenry native, Hartigan has now called on Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) to start their targeted cut on the N69 at the Glin end of the district and work their way back towards Mungret. According to the Independent Ireland man, works normally start in Mungret and by the time they get out the far end of the county in July or August, some of the roads are very dangerous with poor visibility for drivers and pedestrians alike.
“Thankfully, I got confirmation from TII, that they have started work, and they’re going from the outside in as requested. The parishes that are normally left waiting until the end of the summer are being done first, and they will alternate it every second year,” he revealed.
– Local Democracy Reporting Scheme