Francis Noel Duffy (Dublin South West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Fair enough. Okay, I appreciate that. Deputy O'Callaghan spoke to amendment No. 412 regarding hedgerows. I have done work in that area, as have the Cathaoirleach and other members of our party. There is probably more biodiversity in a hedgerow than there is in any tree or copse of trees. There are ancient hedgerows in this country. I know there are issues with planning and, when developing, hedgerows can get in the way. I feel that is where this provision is coming from so that one can just remove a hedgerow. Yet, they are ancient. There are ways of determining how old a hedgerow is by how many species are in the hedgerow. Some of them are really old, and this just provides a licence for them to be removed willy-nilly.