Mr. Michael Hickey:

I do not think the scheme the Senator is talking about is applicable in this instance. That is a brand new scheme and the distance of 7 m would pertain to forests. It will be looked at in the future but I am sure it will not be 7 m for a hectare because there would not be much left for forestry in that case.

As for our European cousins, we have all seen and travelled across Germany, France and so forth, where the hedgerows have gone. Instead they have blocks of forestry in much greater number than we do. They are therefore able to meet their carbon sequestration targets that way, whereas our forestry cover is very low - I think it is 11% - and our hedgerows make up 6% of our land.

As for the bigger picture, worldwide, the tipping point for carbon dioxide is now 350 parts per million. We are at well over 400 parts per million, so the knocking is way past the door at this stage. We need to do something. As Ms O'Sullivan has pointed out, we have this jewel in front of us in our hedgerows that we can claim as carbon sequestration and we are not using it. We are not counting it.