Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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358. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will examine the level of carbon sequestration from hedgerows; if he will provide incentives for the protection and development of hedgerows; if financial supports will be provided to landowners in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35972/20]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department recognises the significant role that our native hedgerows provide to the natural landscape of our countryside. Not only do our hedgerows contribute to the sequestration of carbon from the atmosphere but they are also vital as a habitat for wildlife, a resource for biodiversity and a unique heritage feature that must be managed and protected.

To address the lack of data on hedgerow sequestration, Teagasc has recently commenced a research project called “Farm-Carbon – Farm Hedgerows and Non-forest Woodland Carbon”. The overall objective of this project is to “advance the understanding of the contribution of hedgerows and non-forest woodland to carbon stocks in agricultural landscapes, and to identify approaches to maintain and enhance this contribution”.

While this project is at an early stage of deployment, I am confident that the final results will provide the necessary data to allow for the development of strategies and schemes to maximise the carbon sequestration potential of this valuable resource and contribute additional data required for the inclusion of hedgerows in the national inventory calculations.

In 2009, the Department sought to enhance the protection afforded to Irish hedgerows by designating them as a “Landscape Feature” under the Good Agriculture and Environmental Conditions of Cross Compliance. This designation not only ensures that hedgerows are a protected feature under the Common Agricultural Policy rules but also that they are eligible areas for payment under the Basic Payment Scheme and the Areas of Natural Constraint rules. The protection of hedgerows is further enhanced under Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations which set out the requirements placed on a farmer where the removal of hedgerows is being considered.