Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It is important that we tease out some points.

Would the Minister agree that rather than legislating and then having public consultation and research, we could start by conducting detailed research on when exactly is the nesting season for Irish birds within hedgerows? My understanding is there is good data for the UK but the Irish environment is, by nature, different. We do not have much information on when birds leave nests or when they are nesting. How can the Minister argue that she has introduce this to allow widespread hedge-cutting in August and not to have the Wildlife Act applied because birds are not nesting in that period when the analysis from Birdwatch Ireland and others is that birds such as the yellowhammer species, which is under real threat, are in nests in August? How will we ensure we protect that one species, given the more lax regulations that the Minister is introducing when we know those birds are nesting in August in Irish hedgerows?