Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to comment on the hedgerows and whatever. My colleague, Senator Daly, has summed it up. Fianna Fáil is here to offer support. It is about give and take. It is a question of balance. I have represented this issue from the local authority side. People would have come to me about various issues related to tree-cutting and hedges and so on.

Two issues arise. We need to get a balance. We also need to work with BirdWatch Ireland, An Taisce, the Irish Wildlife Trust, the Hedge Laying Association of Ireland and the Federation of Irish Beekeepers Associations. We will do so.

I have one thing to ask of the Minister. I know she will respond to it. This is a two-year pilot scheme. Everyone needs to work together and everyone should have an input. If everyone has an input, including farmers, this could work.

I have major issues with the canals. The principal reason is that there is no enforcement.I shall outline a small issue that concerns the River Barrow. We have the OPW, Waterways Ireland and local authorities but nobody takes responsibility for the river. The one thing that I seek from this Bill is that enforcement is put in place, that someone is appointed to mandate everything, and that everything is regularised and done properly. If that happens then this Bill will work better than anything that has gone before but everything must be regulated, enforced and done right.