Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I support the amendment. I wish to address my remarks to Fine Gael. I understand that in many ways Fine Gael is a farmers' party, in particular of big farmers. My understanding of farmers, both big and small, is that they are interested and dedicated to the preservation of the wildlife heritage of Ireland. In all the material and the various videos produced so far for the Government by the strategic communications unit there are lots of overviews of the island and prominent in the sweeping lyrical shots that move in from the Cliffs of Moher and eventually go over counties such as Meath and others is a mixture of fields and hedgerows. Essentially, our hedgerows are there in place of a lot of the deciduous forests which for various historical reasons we do not have in this country. I do not understand where Fine Gael is coming from in suggesting that the hedgerows should be endangered and put in peril.

Lots of young people, in particular, respect our environmental heritage. The people who came and lobbied the Dáil and Seanad on a number of occasions were interested in issues such as pollination and pollinators, insects and birds. Nobody has made an argument that what is proposed in the Bill will not imperil all of that wildlife heritage that we as a people have inherited and which we should continue to protect. We should do it for ourselves and for what we have inherited, but if we want to think about money, we should do it to bolster the marking strategy we use for both people in Ireland and those who come from abroad to get them to holiday here. We should do it because of the way we have branded and marketed food through Bord Bia and other products from cattle, sheep and other animals. We should reiterate that Ireland is a small island but with a strong appreciation of its wildlife heritage and its heritage in terms of hedgerows.

I do not understand to whose advantage this is other than in some narrow way of tidying up the countryside. The issues concerning potential traffic accidents and the work that needs to be done to provide for road safety have been adequately dealt with and can be addressed via the local authorities. I am sure the Minister is as committed to heritage and to hedgerows and wildlife as the rest of us and I urge her to think again because once the hedges become diminished and reduced over a period it is too late. As Members who are farmer will be well aware, what is diminished and reduced is difficult to restore. We are all familiar with the big machines which scalp hedges so that little or nothing is left and the various species of birds, other fauna, trees and plants that inhabit the hedges will be diminished by being constantly hacked back. That would be a mistake for Irish people and the visitors who come to Ireland who enjoy the greenness of the countryside, which is a function of the linear system of hedgerows comprising tens of thousands of miles of special ways of natural wildlife.

At the moment we are creating walkways and cycleways all around the country on disused roads and railways lines and we are all taking pleasure in that. I accept farmers have a living to make and we all know they have it tough but, notwithstanding that many people making the argument in favour of the changes claim they are acting in the best interests of farmers, ultimately those who farm have to be close to the land, close to their animals and they must know they farm it to pass it on to the next generation. I appeal to the Minister and the Fine Gael Party. This is a majority Fine Gael Government. It does not have to listen to other voices. Most of the Independents in the Government come from the Fine Gael family so they are talking to themselves. That is all the more reason the Government should ponder whether it should do this as easily as it seems to be doing. I urge the Minister to think again on this.

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