Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the current cut off date for the burning of scrub and gorse in the Cooley mountains; if the same rules apply in other areas; if he has given any consideration to changing the cut off dates for burning; if he has given any consideration to changing the cut off dates for this year in view of the particularly wet summer in 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15482/13]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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Under Section 40 of the Wildlife Acts, the cutting, grubbing, burning or destruction by other means of vegetation growing on uncultivated land or in hedges or ditches, including scrub and gorse, is prohibited during the nesting and breeding season for birds and wildlife, from 1 March to 31 August subject to certain specific exceptions. These provisions are not geographically specific and apply to all areas in the State. The purpose of these provisions is to protect bird life during the nesting season, to prevent forest fires, and to protect vegetation and wildlife habitats during the months of growth and reproduction. I have no current plans to extend the period for hedge cutting.

While hedgerows and scrub are important as wildlife habitats, they need to be managed in the interests of both farming and biodiversity. Accordingly, I included a commitment in the National Biodiversity Plan 2011-2016 to review the overall policy in this area. The commitment is to review, in co-operation with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, both hedgerow and scrub regulation with a view to producing guidelines to encourage best practice for hedgerow and scrub management for wildlife. As part of that review, the potential for setting the relevant dates by statutory instrument, rather than in primary legislation, as is the position currently, will be examined.