Michael McNamara (Clare, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I want to pick up on something the Minister of State said, which makes a lot of sense. He said that good practice requires the retention of individual trees and hedgerows, and that is reflected in section 18(1)(m)(v) which states: "in a hedgerow and felled for the purposes of its trimming, provided that the tree does not exceed 20 centimetres in diameter when measured 1.3 metres from the ground". If the tree is more than 20 centimetres in diameter and is measured more than 1.3 metres from the ground, it is not exempt because good practice requires the retention of individual trees in hedgerows. We all agree with that, yet hedgerows are usually beside public roads and if it is within 10 metres of a public road, it can be cut down. Where is the balance? There is a contradiction inherent in the Bill, although the Minister of State might say otherwise. I am reiterating what I said earlier. It is very important that hedgerows can be cut and that trees of a certain size can be cut as part of a hedgerow. Otherwise, it is not possible to do it, and farmers have a problem in that when they are cutting a hedgerow, if there is a sapling that has been growing for four or five years, they might be in trouble for cutting it. I do not believe they should be in trouble. They should be allowed manage hedgerows, but they should not be allowed to cut trees if they are not a danger to the public.