Leylandii trees at Camross Cemetery are causing damage to headstones there, according to local councillors.
Michael Rainey, Senior Executive Officer said the matter will be investigated with a view to carrying out the works as necessary.
“We are looking at a programme of works for cemeteries,” he said at the recent meeting of Borris-in-Ossory/Mountmellick Municipal Authority
“The trees are leaning over on farmland. They are destroying land,” Cllr McDonald said.
“This is the third or fourth motion on this,” Cllr James Kelly said.
Destroyed
“There is a serious issue, there. The headstones are being destroyed. They are covered in moss,” he said.
“Those trees should not be sown next to near a graveyard,” said Cllr Brendan Phelan.
“It should be a condition of planning that those trees are not sown,” he added.
It will now be expensive to remove the trees as the wood from the trees are not worth anything, Cllr Phelan added.
Safety
It is now a “health and safety issue,” Cllr McDonald said.
There is a similar situation in Mountmellick, Cllr Paddy Bracken said.
“At St Joseph’s Street there are trees and the damage they are causing is colossal,” he said.
A number of councillors are willing to club together some of their discretionary funding to have the trees removed, Cllr Phelan said.
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