Kevin Humphreys (Labour) | Oireachtas source

As we bring legislation to this House, often for very good reasons, we do not bring it here for the majority of people. I want to say very clearly that I support the farming industry and the vast majority of responsible farmers. They will inspect their hedgerows and check to see whether there are nesting birds there.

We bring in legislation for the ones who are irresponsible. We do not bring in legislation on breaking into somebody's house for the vast majority of citizens. We bring it in for the tiny majority of citizens who break into other people's houses.

We have protection of hedgerows and we need to improve and increase them. Amendment No. 6 takes the ambiguity out of it and safeguards hedges. If we are being honest, we will accept amendment No. 6, tell the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport that this is needed quickly and the nonsense we constantly hear about this being about road safety and a pilot scheme would stop because it is not the case.

A certain group among the farming community obviously has somebody's ear and has pushed this ill-thought-out and badly framed legislation. I am going to oppose it at every amendment and every step of the way because nobody has been listening. There have been logical arguments and discussion but they have fallen on deaf ears, certainly in the case of Senator O'Reilly, who is a very good friend of mine. I do not know who he has been talking to and which farming friends were responsible because I imagine that the vast majority of his farming friends do not want this because they have been operating very well. The Minister and I know exactly where this came from so let us cut out the nonsense and get back to bringing forward good and logical legislation.