Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

There is a relevance between the Common Agricultural Policy and the Heritage Bill in terms of the choices that will have to be made by the farming community and the lobby groups. There are opportunities now with the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy to address some of the contradictions which exist and have been spoken about. There have been contradictions in respect of one set of regulations pressing towards making sure that land is in an agriculturally fit state and the other set of regulations rightly looking to preserve biodiversity. I hope that within the Common Agricultural Policy we will now have that space. It seems there is potential for it to be more responsive to ensure we can address those contradictions. However, targets are going to be set and the fines will be more rigorous and higher and Ireland will face significant liabilities if we do not address our climate targets and potentially even sooner than that if we do not address our biodiversity targets. While Ireland has a wonderful network of hedgerows, which was spoken about by the ICSFA and others, we do not have a large reserve of forest such as other countries might have. When we talk about our carbon sinks we argue in the CAP negotiations about our hedgerows as our natural reserved areas. That is what we have. It is a unique asset but it is also the case that this country might not have assets which other countries have going into the CAP negotiations. The hedgerows will play a key role in those talks.

I wish to focus on one issue. I do not intend to speak for long as I am conscious other committee members wish to speak.

I want to refer to one important issue around section 70 and perhaps it could be addressed. The issue about which I am particularly concerned is that the Bill, following the end of the debate on it in the Seanad, introduced a very unusual provision, which suggests that landowners would directly interpret section 70 of the Act, whereas previously it would have been interpreted pursuant to section 70 with respect to the decisions in terms of road safety. It is my understanding that it would be more normal and appropriate, as was previously the case, that notices under section 70 would be served by local authorities. We have sought, and I would encourage those in the Dáil to do so, to widen section 70 in order that more people would be able to ask the local authority to issue them. I would be happy for any of the witnesses to answer my question in this respect. Mr. Foulkes spoke about section 70. If we have people interpreting road safety individually and we have heard that 63% of landowners do not feel able to interpret it, we are opening up potentially further problems in terms of where liability lies. If a hedgerow is a cause of concern for road safety, would this provision potentially diminish the power of the local authority to get that hedgerow cut? Could we be facing increasing dangers on the roads? If there are accidents caused either by the presence or lack of presence of hedge-cutting and, for example, low winter sun is a concern, where will the liability lie? I would mention those new concerns. It would be beneficial if we were to close that loophole which opened up at the end of the debate on the Bill in the Seanad, While we may discuss other aspects in great detail, that particular loophole concerning where the decision-making in respect of road safety lies is a very important one.

One of the witnesses was correct in what he said in that it is strange that we are talking about one-year growth because rotational cutting would surely be better practice. Perhaps that is an issue to be raised with the Minister. With regard to alternatives, it was cited under the birds directive that all alternatives should be sought. There have been alternative schemes in Clare and elsewhere that have been examined. I refer to other ways of addressing the concerns of landowners and concerns regarding the environment.

My last point relates to a concern about a pilot scheme. If we have self-interpretation of road safety and hedge-cutting, which does not need to be reported and is not in any way charted by local authorities, it is hard to see how we could have a pilot scheme because we are almost having two processes happening at once - a complete change in how section 70 operates without having a debate on that and the other provisions that have been put forward in the Bill. The witnesses might address the question of a pilot scheme and if it is plausible in that regard.