Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister on behalf of the people of Wexford for the funds received last week for local historic buildings and for her continued commitment to the Wexford Opera Festival, particularly this year in light of Covid. It will not be going ahead as normal but it will have a more streamlined approach to see it through to next year when, hopefully, we will be back to normal.

Planning permission in rural Ireland today requires 180 m of clear vision either side of the proposed entrance to a new house. This is what has proven to be a safe distance for road visibility. This is mind-boggling because from March to September we can hardly see 5 m on either side because of overgrown hedging and ditches. I have lived in rural Ireland all my life and while it used to be wonderful to consider going for a walk and enjoying the countryside it is now only a mere thought. It is more like taking our lives in our hands. During Covid, more people than ever were walking and cycling and more often than not I received a call to say just how dangerous it was and that people had spent most of the time standing in the ditch because they knew the car, truck, tractor or bus could not see them because the hedges were so overgrown.

People in rural Ireland have difficulty understanding why the Minister's emphasis is more in favour of biodiversity than road safety. I would like the Minister to understand why it is difficult for people in rural Ireland to envisage a nice safe stroll out the gates of their homes, or to get on bikes with their children, without having to drive to somewhere safer, usually miles away, to undertake the activity, and why they feel it will not work to encourage their children to cycle to school as in the good old days when no one drove children to school. The reasons are that traffic has increased a hundredfold and tractors, trucks and buses have got bigger. Pedestrians are not safe on the roads in rural Ireland because the hedgerows are not maintained at the time it is most required. People feel the green agenda does not tie up with road safety and most of those in this position will not take the green agenda seriously.

In Dublin during Covid, cyclists were free from traffic and safe cycling became a pleasure and not a hazard. However, Dublin is not rural Ireland and it does not have the hazards of overgrown hedges and large tree branches that can break off and fall down at the most inopportune time causing injury. I am aware of a cyclist who almost died when a high vehicle passed and struck a branch that fell on him. I had a call last week from a parent who went cycling and whose seven year old was cut to shreds by briars and brambles until finally a briar caught her clothing and pulled her off the bike and they had to return home, knocking her confidence but avoiding serious injury. It would be nice if city slickers were to understand that to avoid such briars means cycling in the middle of the road, which is not something people wish to do in the countryside, with respect for all road users.

Roadside hedging accounts for 15% of Ireland's total hedgerows. We have more hedgerows than any other EU country per kilometre but we have fewer cyclists and fewer walkers. If we really think about why, it is not because we are lazy or because we are not bothered but because the roads are not safe from a traffic visibility perspective for any mortal human being due to the lack of roadside hedgerow maintenance. The less time we allow for hedge maintenance, the worse it is going to get. If we take this year alone, we had a very wet winter. As we have heard from other Deputies, it is going to change. No one could countenance maintenance until the closed period started, which was 1 March, because the lands were too wet and to do so in those conditions would cause soil compaction. Teagasc will tell us that poor soil drainage leads to poorer carbon and knocks sequestration in soil. Therefore, little or no hedge maintenance was carried out and now, with the beautiful weather we have had, which is not typical either, and the rain, we are in a growing spiral. This is out of control and we can see noxious weeds developing. This is bringing us to the most dangerous time on our roads. The most enjoyable part of the year will have passed when the closed season ends. I hope it is without incident or fatality because of the lack of hedge maintenance.

Lack of maintenance on our hedgerows is counterproductive as it means they grow tall and grappy and cease to function as a boundary or a shelter. A grappy hedge is no good to wildlife or biodiversity. These types of hedgerows will not serve as a habitat or provide shelter for nests or the hibernation of native flora or fauna. To state otherwise would be a fallacy. I wish it were different but, as I have said, Ireland is different. We have more hedges to maintain. We have 85% that we need not touch outside of the closed season but we need to strike a balance. A total of 85% untouched hedgerows versus 15% maintained in the interests of road safety for all concerned still sways enormously in favour of any wildlife or biodiversity issue. If the programme for Government is to be taken seriously or to achieve its aims that balance must be met. Hedgerow maintenance is to a pedestrian or a cyclist what a seat belt is to our driver and safety is paramount to us all.

I do not wish to hear from the Minister that hedge cutting is permitted for road safety reasons all year round because that just does not work. If it did I would not be here putting any case to her for an extension. I hope the Minister understands that an extension of the allowed maintenance season would be a step in the right direction that ensures we can all safely take pleasure from our environmental surrounds. I ask the Minister to ensure she will use her discretionary power and her sense of balance regarding life and wildlife by allowing an extension into August and March to the season for roadside hedge and tree management beginning this year. The Minister has said we need to reduce risk and vulnerability. I ask her to apply this to pedestrians, cyclists and road users in rural Ireland. I ask the Minister to respond.

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