No landowners were prosecuted due to overgrown hedges last year

Landowners across Donegal avoided court action last year after the county council confirmed that no prosecutions were taken for overgrown hedges along public roads.

At the recent January Donegal County Council meeting, South Inishowen Councillor Fionán Bradley asked how many landowners had faced court action for failing to cut hedges along public roads. 

In response, Bryan Cannon, Director for Roads and Transportation, confirmed the council had taken no prosecutions in 2025.

Instead, Cannon said that before taking legal action, the council relies on public reminders, consultation with farming organisations, on-site inspections, verbal requests, formal notices, and council-led cutting on lands under its responsibility. He stressed that prosecution is a measure of last resort.

“Many landowners comply with hedge cutting requests from the local Roads Areas Team”, Cannon said, adding that “members should report problem spots directly to the local Roads Area Office.” 

The Director for Roads and Transportation acknowledged that each case is dealt with on its own merit. “Under exceptional circumstances where the Council determines that a landowner or occupier does not have any means financially, physically, or otherwise to comply with the Roads Act in cutting their hedges, and it is obvious that prosecuting such persons through the courts would not result in getting the hedges cut, the Council will take a sympathetic view towards getting the work done.”

In Ireland, failure to cut overgrown hedges that pose a safety hazard is a serious offense, with landowners facing potential prosecution under the Roads Act 1993.

Owners of land adjoining public roads are responsible for maintaining hedges to prevent them from obstructing visibility, damaging vehicles, or forcing pedestrians into traffic.

While landowners must cut hedges for safety, hedge cutting is banned from March 1st to August 31st under the Wildlife Act 1976 to protect nesting birds and biodiversity during their breeding season. This legislation prohibits the destruction of vegetation in hedges or ditches to prevent habitat destruction and to prevent disturbance to nesting sites.

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Prosecutions for failure to cut hedges between September and February or illegally cutting them during the off-season have historically been rare. 

In 2021, the Department of Housing released figures showing that over the previous decade, only 139 prosecutions occurred nationwide for cutting hedges between March and August, with just four of those occurring in Donegal over the ten years.