Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have listened to a great deal of the debate on the section, which is one of the most contentious sections of the Bill. I agree with a great deal of the sentiment expressed around the fact that the section is not relevant to the Bill. Certainly, it is not relevant to the work of the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. It is more akin to the remit of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. I read the submission of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in the public consultation process on this issue. It submitted that hedge cutting could have been more comprehensively addressed through reform of section 70 of the Roads Act. That course of action was not pursued, however. The eight submissions on hedge cutting by local authority members all focused on roadside hedges as did those by local authorities themselves.

There has been condemnation of people who have raised issues on this section because they were perceived to be people who are based in the city. I have reservations about this element of the Bill and I consider myself a small farmer as someone who grew up on a small farm. At this time of year, I often work on the family farm at home at weekends as it is the lambing season. Many of my neighbours who are members of farming organisations are not supportive of a universal permission to allow everyone to cut hedges for an extended period. There is an agenda among some to open this up as proposed in the Bill, but it is the wrong approach to take. Arguments have been expressed here today which are balanced and reasonable on introducing legislation based on scientific evidence. That should always be the backdrop to legislation and changes of this nature which have the potential to affect our natural habitats, wildlife and, indeed, farmlands. This element of the Bill requires further scrutiny and I support very much the suggestion of Senator Humphreys that the section be referred to committee to undergo further pre-legislative scrutiny before entering Dáil Éireann so that every interested stakeholder has an opportunity to express an opinion. It is my understanding that many of the stakeholders who wanted to engage with the Department were not afforded the opportunity to do so, including some of the key interested stakeholder groups. I have some written correspondence to that effect which has been sent to me.

Further scrutiny is required. In an effort to restrict cutting to roadside hedges, we have submitted an amendment that would have the effect of reducing hedge cutting by more than 81% in circumstances in which 19% of hedgerows intersect the public road network. That figure came from a consultant who is a hedgerow manager living in County Leitrim. He gave an excellent presentation in Buswells Hotel prior to the Bill coming before the Seanad. I have received, as has every Senator, very reasonable, balanced and well-thought-out e-mails and phone calls. I have met many people, including farmers, to discuss the Bill. The farmers I know are in receipt of Common Agricultural Policy, or CAP, money. In the previous Seanad, I was Fianna Fáil spokesperson for agriculture and I advocated for a fairer, more balanced payments mechanism under the CAP so that moneys would be taken away from the east coast and provided to the west coast of Ireland. In other words, it should be removed from the larger intensive farmers, such as the Larry Goodmans of this world, who are in receipt of over €500,000 of CAP money and transferred to rural areas in economic decline where it would be better spent. In those areas, people are leaving because the family farm is no longer viable and people are struggling, particularly elderly farmers, to maintain the farm enterprise. The money could have been better spent but that did not happen. Some of the farming organisations opposed that proposal, which I fail to understand. They had no credible justification apart from the protectionism that exists for the bigger intensive farmers. In any event, there are conditions attaching to the money available under the CAP and those conditions relate to greening, GLAS, REPS and environmental protections to protect natural habitats.

While farmed animals are farmed, other animals also exist on our landmass which I understand comprises 6.9 million ha and they are protected under legislation underpinned in the Minister's own Department. That is why I fail to understand why legislation is being introduced which is in stark contrast to the legislation protecting those species within the Minister's Department, which is without scientific justification and which will result in the widescale destruction of habitats, including hedgerows. Unfortunately, the scientific evidence is lacking in Ireland for this. However, my attention was drawn to scientific evidence from our nearest neighbour, Britain, which shows that widescale cutting of hedges destroys natural habitats, including flowers. We have even had the beekeeping community contacting us on this, because they are being affected. The honey bee is affected. There are many implications which I am not qualified to go into in detail, but we should listen to all of the concerns that are being raised. The best mechanism to do that is the committee system.

In the meantime, we will press the amendment to restrict this to roadside hedges. It was said in previous debates that road safety was the driving force behind the introduction of hedge cutting. If that is the case, I am sure the Government parties will have no hesitation in accepting the amendment. It deals with that issue. If there are particular issues around tillage farmers who may require a special dispensation, that can be dealt with also. However, it is something that should be teased out at the relevant committee where all stakeholders have an opportunity to express a viewpoint. I concur with my colleague Senator Mark Daly and put the Minister on notice that we will press this amendment to restrict hedge cutting.