Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It might be useful to respond amendment by amendment. I will then address the specific points raised by the Deputies. I thank them for their contributions.

I will not accept amendment No. 20, as there already exist provisions under section 70 of the Roads Act 1993 requiring landowners to manage their hedgerows in the interests of road safety. Local authorities also have power under section 70 to serve notices in writing on landowners requiring the cutting or trimming of hedges if they are considering a road safety hazard. As these provisions under the Act apply for 12 months of the year, I see no reason for the amendment.

This morning, I launched the county biodiversity plans. In 2018, there will be €250,000 available for this scheme, amounting to €2.5 million over ten years. It will continue for the duration of the national plan.

I am not weakening regulations on hedges. For the first time, we will have regulations as well as National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, guidelines. This is not a free-for-all. On the contrary, it brings order, regulation and guidelines.

I will not accept amendment No. 21, as the proposals in section 7(2) provide for managed hedge cutting to be allowed on roadsides only under strict criteria during August to help ensure that issues such as overgrown hedges impacting on roads can be tackled. Regarding the establishment of a task force, as part of the review of section 40 of the 1976 Act, a consultation process was initiated in order to gauge options on that section.