Vol. 496 No. 5
40 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the plans, if any, he has to address the wholesale destruction of hedgerows which has been taking place as a direct consequence of the implementation of the REP scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22475/98]
Measure 5 of the REP scheme and agri-environmental specifications set out clearly the objectives to be achieved with regard to hedgerows. Among the objectives is the management of hedgerows on a phased basis to encourage their development with a diversity of height, stages of growth and form in the interests of wildlife, stock control and scenic appearance.
The specifications set out suggestions on how to manage hedges for healthy growth and good quality, including those that require restructuring. A management option is to leave the hedge undisturbed.
In order to strengthen this measure further and to ensure that it is meeting its objectives, special attention is being given to this measure and I will be issuing new revised specifications shortly which will deal with this issue. Among the revisions are the maintenance of hedgerows in their present state, height, width and uncut/untrimmed where such hedgerows are of good quality. Farmers will be encouraged to retain hedgerows and confine maintenance to essential practices such as stockproofing, inplanting with suitable species and the control of invasive species.
The planned revisions will improve the situation and I believe will address the concerns which have been voiced in regard to the implementation of the measure.
42 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he has any plans to improve the efficiency of REP scheme inspections by recruiting or transferring more inspectors to handle the backlog of cases which causes a delay in REP scheme payment of several months for most farmers. [23237/98]
To avoid a serious backlog developing in REP scheme inspections, a number of inspectors are being assigned to the rural development and environment area within the next few weeks, including one to the Galway area and two to the Mayo area.
My Department keeps the staffing situation in all areas under constant review and I can assure the Deputy that available staffing resources will continue to be used to best effect to meet the day to day needs of farmers in all sectors.
