Colette Kelleher (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Today, the Minister is asking the Seanad to sign a blank cheque, particularly with regard to section 8(3), which I know does not relate to the amendment at hand. As a result, I am opposing this Bill for the sake of our beautiful countryside. I will address the amendment at hand.

This Bill is poorly structured and does nothing to address road safety issues. Road safety has been raised as an issue with regard to overgrown hedgerows, and as other Senators have already said, this is covered in existing legislation, namely, section 40 of the Wildlife Act and section 70 of the Roads Act. These Acts allow county councils to issue orders to landowners to cut hedgerows that are deemed a danger, even outside the permitted cutting season. The Heritage Bill 2016 does nothing to improve on this and creates greater confusion in the system. An amendment has been submitted that would widen the scope of section 70 of the Roads Act and allow members of the public and landowners to request that councils allow them to cut dangerous hedgerows, and that is what we should support rather than what is proposed in the Bill.