Tipperary activists take battle to protect hedgerow corridors to Dáil Eireann

Hedgerows Ireland, a Tipperary-based group, marched on Dáil Éireann to highlight issues that concern their members.
Hedgerows Ireland aim to protect and enhance vital hedgerow corridors andthey set out their demands to Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue.

The Clonmel busload were joined by supporters from all over the country.
The group that protested in Dublin included beekeepers, huntsmen, game shooters, farmers, fishermen, Doctors for the Environment group, nature lovers and more.

The crowd at the Leinster House protest included farmers who, in common with the other protestors, are highly critical of the ongoing unnecessary destruction of hedgerows by a small minority of landowners and also state bodies which include Irish Rail and local county councils.

Following the protest, Hedgerows Ireland has written to the leaders of the main farming organisations seeking their support for the twin aims of the campaign: better farm payments for quality hedgerows and reduced threshold limits for removal.
The group marched from Dáil Éireann to the Department of Agriculture and delivered a formal letter addressed to Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue.

“We are united by concern and frustration. Because of inaction and mismanagement by policy makers, our beautiful landscape is being steadily destroyed by the ongoing unjustified removal of thousands of kilometres of hedgerows annually,” stated the letter.

Representatives from the groups that have formed an alliance with Hedgerows Ireland have been lobbying Government ministers and the Department of Agriculture for three years to amend the rules around hedgerow removal and to simultaneously reward landowners for maintaining good quality hedgerows through farm payment schemes.

IGNORED
“These recommendations have been ignored.
“Reviews of the rules have been promised but with no dates or terms of reference. The new CAP scheme payments have missed key opportunities to incentivise good hedgerow management.

“Unfortunately, and against all current research advice, upwards of 3000 kilometres of hedgerows are still being removed annually by a small number of landowners who are facilitated under the current Department of Agriculture regulations to destroy up to half a kilometre of hedgerow without any assessment or permission. Research also shows that less than one third of remaining hedgerows are in good condition,” stated the letter handed in.

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Hedgerows Ireland state that what is needed now was an immediate reduction of the current 500 metre hedgerow removal limit pending the outcome of the promised review by the Department of Agriculture.
Secondly, farm payments should reward landowners for maintaining and improving the quality of existing hedgerows as well as the planting of new hedges.

The group also raised issues concerning State agencies and education in their letter.
IRISH RAIL
“Poor treatment of hedgerows by local authority contractors and other State agencies including Irish Rail is also of great concern to our group.
“Unnecessary removal and excessive cutting regimes are responsible for massive loss, often driven by unjustified safety claims. We are demanding that all hedgerow management and removal , including that by State agencies, is subject to environmental assessment and best practice guidelines and work carried out by certified contractors.
EDUCATION

“We recognise that a key driver of good hedgerow management practice is education. We strongly endorse the work of Catherine Keena and her team in Teagasc who provide invaluable training resources on all aspects of hedgecraft. There is a clear need for the resurrection of training and certification for hedgerow contractors. This was previously available but has been abandoned in recent years with a consequent severe decline in the standard of hedge management,” Hedgerows Ireland stated. The letter handed in requested that a formal meeting should be arranged between Hedgerows Ireland and Minister McConalogue.

Alan Moore, Hedgerows Ireland said all involved were grateful for David Anchell for organising the bus from Clonmel, to Con Traas for providing refreshments and to Cahir filmmaker Paul Kelly who is making a documentary about the issues.