Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

What I am trying to do is introduce flexibility into the system. Managed hedge cutting will be allowed under strict criteria during August to help to tackle issues such as overgrown hedges on roads. Controlled burning will also be allowed in certain areas around the country to be specified during March should it be necessary due to adverse weather conditions such as those we had this month. I had announced a review in late 2014 of section 40 of the Wildlife Act which relates to hedge cutting and burning. These measures are being implemented as a result of the review. Over 200 submissions were received in that regard. I am trying to strike the right balance. Hedgerows and scrub are important wildlife habitats, but they have to be managed in terms of biodiversity and land management. I am not changing the closed period. What we are doing is permitting cutting and burning in a managed way within the current closed system. I want to collect more information on the impact, if any, of these changes. I will collect that information on bird life and different hedgerow types during the pilot period.

To provide some extra information to the House, my Department is monitoring 59 habitats, 175 NHAs, 100 animal species and 180 bird species. I have issued a call to experts in the area to get a baseline. We need to set a baseline as that is important. We will then monitor the impact of the pilot. To be clear, the Wildlife Act prevents the disturbing or destroying of nests and, as such, it is incumbent on land owners to ensure that they are not damaging wildlife if they decide to cut or trim back within the specified time of 1 to 31 August during the pilot period. That law is still there and land owners must be mindful of it. A two year study to track the breeding outcomes of individuals from several bird species, with particular attention on the yellowhammer, will include hedges that are uncut as well as those subject to cutting in early August. Additional focus will be given to estimate the bird use of the hedgerows in the study areas outside the breeding season and the linear extent of hedges necessary to provide robust data will have to be estimated as part of the study. There is also a hedgerow monitoring project aimed at providing robust contemporary data on the extent, timing and intensity of hedge cutting at sample sites around Ireland including but not confined to August. As such, the Department will consider interested parties contributing to data collection and the use on a pilot basis of the nature conservation web address.

I do not want to put these regulations into primary legislation because this is a pilot project. The legislation remains and this is just giving me a degree of flexibility to carry out the pilot project. Concern was raised about enforcement. I will launch a public awareness process for all stakeholders, including local authorities, land owners and members of the public, so that they are fully informed about the restrictions on hedge cutting and trimming. Enforcement is the job of the authorised officials of the National Parks and Wildlife Service. They enforce the law and will continue to do so. I have already advised the House that I will introduce an amendment on Report Stage to align section 70 of the Roads Act on hedge cutting for road safety purposes with section 40 of the Wildlife Act