Mr. Joe Condon:

A question was asked earlier about cutting hedges within fields. We are totally for this in the month of August. For various reasons, the land is drier. Cutting in August would not create rutting, which leads to soil erosion, which in turn leads to siltation of rivers, etc. The soil structure is much more firm at that time of the year. If there is a heavy hedge that requires cutting, it is done once. The next cut just involves a maintenance run. It could be the next year or the one after that. The nesting birds will not be interfered with on a maintenance run.

Another proposal we would like to make is that the National Parks and Wildlife Service should be properly funded to establish a burning scheme for upland areas, including commonages, private Natura land and designated lands. It should be given the flexibility to burn limited areas of the uplands when possible. This derogation should be allowed until such time as rotational burning is fully established in upland areas. Today, no land would burn. Land that was burned last year will not burn at any time. Burning is the problem and burning is the solution. It is a paradox. A fire needs fuel. If the fuel is allowed to build up, the fire spreads, as happened in the Cloosh Valley in Connemara, where the special area of conservation extends for miles. The farmers in the area had no choice. They attempted to put the fire out but it was so powerful that it just passed right through. The area was managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service and would have benefited from controlled burning over the relevant years.

We believe there are solutions. We believe burning is essential for upland management and for agricultural purposes.