By Dan Walsh
Legislation to give ESB Networks stronger powers to manage vegetation around power lines still hasn’t been published almost 18 months after Storm Éowyn, according to Fine Gael’s Cllr Robbie Staples.
Cllr Staples said families and businesses around the country, in particular areas hit hardest by power outages like Wexford, can’t be expected to face into another winter relying on outdated 1927 legislation to keep the lights on.
The Bill dealing with vegetation management was promised by Government after Cabinet approved the Heads of the Bill in July 2025. As of last month, the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment confirmed the draft heads are still being revised with no Bill yet published.
“We were told the heads of the Bill were approved well over a year ago. Families in Wexford are still losing power for weeks at a time when trees come down on lines and we’re being told the legislation is ‘being progressed’. That’s not good enough,” Cllr Staples told WexfordLocal.com
The ESB currently relies on Section 98 of the Electricity (Supply) Act 1927 to cut trees and hedges obstructing lines – a power which requires case-by-case agreement with landowners and offers none of the statutory clarity on forestry corridors that this Bill would provide.
“Every winter we wait, we’re gambling with people’s electricity supply. This Bill needs to be published and passed before the next storm hits, not after,” he added.
Cllr Robbie Staples said he would continue to press the Minister to publish the Bill without delay, so that ESB Networks has the statutory footing it needs ahead of this winter.
