Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses today. I thank the representatives of the IFA and Irish Natura & Hill Farmers Association for their comments, fair requests and understanding of the situation on the ground. I welcome Mr. Fogarty but I certainly do not welcome his comments as they are not helpful to the farming community, wider public or, indeed, the birds or wildlife he says he is trying to protect.

It is my view and that of many that roadside hedges should be cut all the year round for the safety of road users. I seriously mean that. People are saying this to me. They are paying their road tax. They are trying to do a bit of exercise up and down narrow roads but cannot because their eyes would be picked out. They cannot cycle on our roads. We are supposed to cycle to keep fit. Farmers cannot take loads of hay up or down roads because of branches, trees, bushes, briars and every other thing stopping them. That should not be the way. We are entitled to the roadway that is tarred but the margins between the edges of the roads and the ditches should be kept clear all year round because people are using both the roads and roadsides all year round. On a narrow road, one has nowhere to step out of the way, bearing in mind that some roads are only the width of one vehicle. One is prevented from stepping out of the way if the briars and hedges are not cut.

To say that birds are nesting at the side of the road or in trees over the road is absolutely ridiculous because it does not account for the wind of a lorry, tractor or car moving in a lively way down the road. As I have said many times before, the birds would be left naked in the middle of the road because every feather would be blown off them. It is ridiculous that the Irish Wildlife Trust wants to say to us that we cannot cut the roadside hedges to ensure the safety of the people.

I would go further. Three people were killed recently by branches. There is a lot of talk about road safety. There is a man upstairs suggesting people should not be able to drive a tractor without getting an NCT or that a young fellow cannot drive a car without being accompanied even though he is insured. These kinds of people want to close down rural Ireland altogether and stop us moving around.

I have no problem with hedges being allowed to grow at a certain time inside the ditches. The whole country is ripe for birds, and we welcome them. If Mr. Fogarty were really interested in ground-nesting birds, he would tackle the mink, grey crows and magpies. They are taking the eggs of the ground-nesting birds. There was no mention of that. The Irish Wildlife Trust wants to leave everything grow wild. It is actually damaging the ground-nesting birds by not insisting on the elimination of the creatures I mentioned, in addition to foxes. As Mr. Dunne stated, deer are a plague. They are no longer satisfied to graze on the hills and the mountains. They are spreading rhododendrons and everything else, and they are eating what farmers have.

Farmers have to cut their stock because of deer. I thank the witness for highlighting that.

It is frightening to think that those in the North of Ireland can cut hedges for a month or six weeks longer than those in the South. There is only a ditch between us. We are trying to ensure that there will not be a border between us. What does that tell us? Over the years farmers have been the best custodians of the land and do not need to be told how to manage their land by any interrupters. They want to hand their farms down to those coming after them as their fathers did.

Payments are being held up. I spoke on the telephone today to a man who overcame cancer. His payment has been held up because the commonage of which he is a shareholder was burned. He had nothing to do with it. The Department promised a month ago that a letter would be issued outlining what the man would and would not get. To date he still has not received the letter. We firmly believe he will get no payment for Christmas, which is totally wrong because he had nothing to do with what happened.

We could do things a bit better. Farmers and landowners should be advised to open a fire belt around their properties should they be likely to be burned. I spoke about the issue when I was a member of Kerry County Council. The National Parks and Wildlife Service and other bodies should open fire belts to ensure fires do not spread. People who want to burn should do so legally and in a controlled fashion. I ask for a return to the previous position whereby farmers received help from Coillte to carry out burning, something which happened until 15 April. Since then, the date has been changed to the end of February. We could do things better in that regard.

I remind Mr. Fogarty-----