Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. It is a long time coming to our turn on it. I welcome much of what is contained in the Bill. It is a pity that it is just a pilot scheme. It should be introduced for a longer term, but in fairness to the Minister, she has made an effort in introducing the pilot scheme.

I do not think it is a good idea to personally attack a Minister. I may have had many protracted talks with the Minister down through the years but I do not think a person should come out with the likes of some of the contributions I heard earlier. Many people right around the country would agree with what the Minister is doing in most of the Bill.

When one drives around the country, there is a major problem whether one is in a car, lorry or tractor regarding grass and hedges growing out on the road. Whether we like it or not - the RSA will blame this, that and the other when it has a tantrum - we in rural Ireland know what is causing many of the problems. People have done work voluntarily in areas to make sure that no one is killed or injured on the roads but unfortunately what has happened in recent years is that one had to go through such a rigmarole to get a problem sorted that nothing was done. In my opinion, lives have been lost because of it.

To be blunt, I am sick of listening to the Saturday and Sunday drivers who come out from cities and tell people who come from a managed landscape how to run it. Let everyone be very clear; everyone tells people in rural Ireland how to live their lives, how to protect their land and how to do this, that and the other, but the reality is that for the past 100 or 200 years people in rural areas have managed the landscape and have brought it to where it is today. They did not need all the so-called experts telling them how to do it or coming out on Saturday and Sunday telling them how to keep it. They are the people who learned it. One should remember that if people who live in rural Ireland make a mistake, it costs them. It is their pocket that is affected so they do not do it a second time.

Earlier, I heard reference to the likes of the curlew and the hen harrier. Unfortunately, it is these do-gooders who let go many of the minks that have taken out many of these birds. That is regrettable to see. A person born in rural Ireland is brought up to grow up with nature. A person born in rural Ireland knows to make sure that birds are not hurt. The way and nature of people who live in rural Ireland is a credit to them. These are handed on. They do not simply come from reading a book or going to college. They come from nature and are handed from one person to another. I do not like people referring to the uneducated thugs down the country who need a little education and who should be told what they need to do. Above all, no one will tell us what to do.

Reference was made to burning. We have seen the fires and there is no point in anyone saying there were no fires. However, there were fires in Portugal and America too. We are back to the one word again. If we do not ensure we have a managed landscape, then we will end up with fires. That is the reality of it. I put forward proposals - I hope they will be looked at - for areas that suffer from a lack of industry in the locality. I believe there is an opportunity to set up co-ops and ensure that we undertake controlled burning. We could pay those involved and put them on something like a rural social scheme. We could train them and ensure it is done well.

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