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

I question the statistics just quoted by the Minister. I have been told, and I believe the research was done by the national hedgerow database, that 19% of randomly selected hedgerows were found to be roadside hedges, not 2%. Having spoken with people involved in the preservation of our hedgerow system, which is under threat for a variety of reasons, there is recognition that roadside hedgerows tend to be some of the most important. They are the oldest, they are the boundary hedges, they have the most diverse wildlife within them and they are the most sensitive to disruption. This is not an insignificant 2%. These most important hedges are, from 1 August, under attack regardless of whether the local authority gives a direction and just because somebody considers that it is so. This is not an insignificant change.