Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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I thank Deputy Durkan for taking the Chair to facilitate me in speaking on this matter.

We are into open season on hedgerows again with hedgerow trimming or cutting, however we want to term it. It is also about hedgerow removal, which obviously has far more long-term consequences and a greater environmental impact. During the closed season, the Department of agriculture engaged in a review of the environmental impact screening thresholds, which essentially was about how much hedgerow you are allowed to remove without applying for an environmental impact screening assessment. That currently stands at 500 m. That means, as it currently stands, a farmer is allowed to remove up to half a kilometre of hedgerow without implying any environmental impact at all.

Removing hedgerows has a huge environmental impact and a huge heritage impact. We know that hedgerows discharge many functions within the Irish landscape. First, they are incredibly important biodiversity corridors. Our bird species, in particular, are hugely dependent on the berries and fruits produced particularly at this time of year. There are obviously our insect species and pollinators. They are hugely important for the beautiful whitethorn hedges we see in the springtime. Our insect life also supports so much else in the food web, be it bird life tracking through into the mammals that use these hedgerows as wildlife corridors that crisscross the entirety of our landscape. They have an important role in carbon sequestration. Unfortunately, Ireland remains one of the countries in Europe with the lowest forest cover. There are all sorts of historical reasons for that, such as reasons of colonisation. That is not important in this conversation because we are where we find ourselves. However, for that reason our hedgerows are all the more important. They really are the extant tree cover in our landscape. For that reason, they play an important role in carbon sequestration

. Another role they discharge is in regard to the retention of water in our landscape. As we remove more and more of these natural features, and as our weather changes, we are increasingly seeing flooding events. We are coming up on the first anniversary of the terrible flooding in east Cork and in my own constituency in west Waterford. Hedgerows within a landscape prevent water from travelling across a landscape. They prevent flooding. We are particular in allowing quite so much removal without environmental impact assessment. I understand that in Wales it is closer to 20 m. In my own piece of Private Member's business, which has passed First Stage in this House, I talk about reducing it to a lower level without that environmental impact assessment. That is not to be oblivious to the needs of modern farming. I understand the tillage sector, for example, needs larger spaces. However, if hedgerow is to be removed, an appropriate environmental impact assessment must be performed to show whether that is appropriate.

The Department of agriculture has had a long time to conclude this review. I do not have sight of the results of this review, and I worry that we are waiting until the Green Party is no longer in government before we proceed on this review. It is important to our biodiversity, our wildlife, our carbon sequestration and our flooding. If we are indeed in a biodiversity emergency, as this House acknowledged in 2019, we should act like we are.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I am taking this on behalf of the Minister, Deputy McConalogue. The Minister believes that hedgerows are a significant component of the Irish landscape. We are fortunate in Ireland to have retained an extensive hedgerow network, with an estimated length of 689,000 km according to Teagasc research. As Deputy Ó Cathasaigh has said, hedgerows are multifunctional, acting not only as stock-proof fencing and boundary markers, but also providing invaluable ecosystem services such as crucial wildlife corridors, carbon storage, flood prevention and mitigation of fertiliser run-off.

Any removal of hedgerows can have a detrimental effect on the ecosystem service they specifically provide, such as biodiversity and climate resilience. It reduces how well connected the hedgerow network is for birds, bats, butterflies and other wildlife that use hedges for habitats. It removes valuable carbon sequestration facilities and contributes to soil erosion and excessive nutrient run-off. That is why the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has for the past 30 years, through various agri-environment schemes, facilitated the planting of more than 11,000 km of new, native species hedgerows and the rejuvenation of over 6,000 km more hedgerows through traditional hedgerow maintenance with the aim of protecting that valuable resource.

The Department has strengthened the level of protection hedgerows receive with the EU basic payment scheme identifying hedgerows as landscape features, protecting hedgerows under good agricultural and environmental condition, GAEC, standards and cross-compliance. This has been further strengthened under conditionality, which is part of the CAP strategic plan 2023 to 2027. GAEC 8 sets out the exceptional circumstances where the removal of hedgerow is allowed. These are building work, road safety issues, which are a major issue in this area, and farm safety issues. Where this is allowed it must be replaced in advance by twice the length in a like-for-like fashion. It is important to remember that removing a hedgerow between two fields is not considered an exceptional circumstance.

The new voluntary eco-scheme also aims to reward farmers for undertaking actions benefiting the climate, the environment, water quality and biodiversity, which includes the planting of hedgerows or trees on the farm.

The Department of Agriculture introduced the EIA (Agriculture) Regulations (SI 456 of 2011, as amended) in 2011. The objective is to assess the effects of certain projects or works on the environment with the aim of allowing works to take place where there is no environmental impact and ensuring works do not take place where there would be an impact on the environment. These regulations cover, among other items, the removal of field boundaries. When a farmer intends to remove hedgerow and the proposed works exceed the size threshold for screening, he or she must make an application to the Department for screening or consent, giving details of the works. If the Department officers consider the works are likely to have a significant effect on the environment, permission will be refused.

The Minister, Deputy McConalogue, has committed to reviewing and updating this regulation, as outlined in the programme for Government. As part of that review process, referred to by Deputy Ó Cathasaigh, a public consultation was conducted in 2023. A total of 64 submissions were received and reviewed in response to that consultation. Submissions were received from statutory agencies, NGOs, farming organisations, farmers and members of the public. The Department is continuing to review the outcome of that public consultation in tandem with its legal team. Departmental guidance documents on the EIA agriculture regulations are also being updated.

Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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It is interesting to note what is omitted from the answer the Minister of State was given by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. It talks about the size threshold for screening and chooses to neglect to mention that up to 500 m can be removed without any application for screening or any application to the Department. I also find interesting the figure of 11,000 km given for the new native species hedgerows. I could raise the issue of imported hawthorne and the issue of fireblight but I will not go into that because time is limited. However, the Minister of State knows that a new hedgerow is not nearly as rich or valuable as an ancient hedgerow in all sorts of ways related to the ecosystem services he referenced. Large tracts of ancient hedgerow are often removed from the landscape and replaced by whips. That is not like for like replacement and simply does not discharge the same function within the landscape.

It is also interesting that the answer did not give a timeline for when this review is to be completed. This public consultation detailed by the Minister of State was conducted in 2023. It is now October 2024. It is not credible that the Department concluded a consultation in 2023 and sat on it for over a year. I do not believe that a review of a public consultation by a legal team takes over 12 months to complete. I am worried we are removing from our landscape something that is incredibly valuable in all sorts of respects. Our screening and the thresholds we have in place simply do not have the strictness to stop that happening. I would like to see the review concluded and what the new screening thresholds will be before the end of the Government’s term.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I assure the Deputy that the Department is very much committed to the protection of our hedgerows. It strengthened the level of protection they receive within the basic payment scheme. They are identified as landscape features, as I said. Hedgerows are protected under good agricultural environmental conditions standards, through cross-compliance, and further strengthened with the current capital strategic plan. If a farmer in receipt of CAP payments removes a hedge, he or she has to plant double the length that was removed. Also, that hedgerows can only be removed for exceptional reasons.

I will brief the Minister on the Deputy's concerns regarding the review.