Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This has been a welcome debate. Issues have been made of hedgerow cutting and when it happens, whether it is August, September, October, November or December. Whenever hedge cutting happens, health and safety must be paramount, and it is up to the individual or the contractor involved to ensure his or her health and safety is paramount. If one is cutting hedgerows in the month of August, that does not mean one's health and safety is less than when one cuts one's hedgerows in the month of December. I do not see any issue regarding the amount of traffic or any other impediment regarding the cutting of hedges in August if proper health and safety procedures-----