Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

During the progress of the Bill through the Seanad, a number of amendments were proposed to confine the hedge cutting extension to roadside hedges. Does the IFA believe that if the extension of hedge cutting into August was exclusive to roadside hedges, it would remedy most of its issues?

I read an interview featuring a representative of the IFA who said he was hopeful that the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, would deliver on a number of promises made to the association. Will the witnesses detail those promises?

Could the INHFA explain the benefits of burning in March? Met Éireann statistics show March is wetter than January and February. Furthermore, winter 2016 and 2017 were among the driest on record. Silage was being made in October, yet there were a series of wildfires in spring 2017. My understanding is that the same landowners who started these fires had opportunities to burn in the open season but did not do so. Some 432 fires were recorded in May this year alone. Will the witnesses explain how a March extension will solve this when the presentation led us to believe that it would go a long way to solve rogue burning.

How do the witnesses from the IFA and the INHFA believe this could impact on the bird nesting season or bee pollination? How do all witnesses believe that the Bill maintains or enhances our natural heritage?