166 Mr. Higgins (Dublin West) asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the discussions, if any, he has had with the Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation to have the REP scheme amended to provide for an exemption in amenity areas to the requirement for stockproof fences in view of the disastrous effect barbed wired fences are having on the tourism business in the west of Ireland. [9454/99]
I received representations from the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation on behalf of the chairman of the country sports concern group, concerning the excessive use of wire under the rural environment protection scheme. The representations included a report commissioned by the country sports concern group, the contents of which were taken into consideration in the recent revision of the REP scheme specifications. The REP scheme requires that all participants stockproof farm boundaries and the new specifications give every encouragement to planners and farmers to use barriers such as hedgerows and stonewalls when drawing up plans.
In this regard the specifications point out that hedgerows provide an important wildlife habitat especially for woodland flora and fauna and maintenance practices have a direct bearing on the ability of a hedgerow to act as a stockproof barrier and its value for wildlife. The planner must set out in the plan the measures to be taken to maintain the hedgerow. Mature hedgerows in good condition should be allowed to grow naturally with maintenance confined to essential practices such as stockproofing, implanting with suitable species and control of invasive species. Where untended hedges have formed dense cover these may be left relatively undisturbed especially where this is not intrusive on normal farming operations.
The position regarding stone walls is also clearly set out in the specifications. All existing stone walls must be retained and maintained in a manner traditional to the area. Existing walls which are prominent in the landscape but are in a state of disrepair must be repaired or rebuilt on a phased basis, subject to the availability of sufficient stones on site.
