Ms Oonagh Duggan:

Hedge cutting during the bird breeding period between 1 March and 31 August is the top complaint we receive at BirdWatch Ireland. The complaints can be about roadside hedge cutting or sometimes the clearance of infield hedgerow. People get very upset about it because it is very obvious, particularly when driving along in the countryside. The Wildlife Act has provisions to allow for hedge cutting for road safety reasons and this is really important. We are all road users and we need to use the road safely. This is important to keep in mind. When we communicate with people and discuss this we ask whether people are aware of the provisions in the Wildlife Act. Sometimes we feel this reason is used to cut hedgerows where there might not be an obvious road safety concern. It is tricky. It is used and possibly abused a little.

With regard to whether hedge cutting is unreported, we receive a lot of reports. I do not have a figure in front of me but we have seen a huge increase in people's concerns about hedge cutting in recent years. It ties in with the general sentiment that people are concerned about what is happening with the environment between the extreme weather events of last year, the impact of climate change and marine plastics. There is a big coming together. A tipping point has been reached whereby people just want to see more nature and not less. It is very difficult for the National Parks and Wildlife Service to get a conviction for hedge cutting done during the breeding period because people have to be caught in the act of doing it. We really must commend the cases that have been taken by the National Parks and Wildlife Service in recent months because it is difficult work to get them across the line. They are really positive.