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

With regard to amendment No. 57, it should not be mandatory for every hedge cut and area of land burned under this provision to be reported to the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment. I cannot accept that there might be a gain from having such a register that would justify the cost and efficiencies involved, nor can we require another Department to keep a register.

With regard to amendment No. 58, it should not be mandatory for every hedge cut under this provision to be included in a register. That would be an overly bureaucratic and time-consuming process which would have significant cost and resource implications for my Department. I cannot accept that any gain there might be from having such a register would justify the cost and efficiencies involved.

We cannot amend the Roads Act which covers section 70 orders.