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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 1 Apr 1999

Vol. 503 No. 2

Written Answers. - Special Areas of Conservation.

Trevor Sargent

Ceist:

195 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands if she will remind local authorities, farmers and developers of their obligation to protect hedgerows and avoid disturbance of wildlife during the nesting season in view of construction work on the roadways recently where hedging was removed and left in large piles in fields at a time when many species of wild birds were nesting and feeding their young. [9504/99]

I refer the Deputy to my replies to Question No. 304 of 16 February 1999 and Question No. 70 of 9 March 1999. I am keenly aware of the importance of protecting hedgerows and avoiding the disturbance of wildlife during the nesting season. In the absence of native woodlands, hedgerows form an important feature for maintaining wildlife diversity, particularly for birds.

The Deputy will be aware that section 40 of the Wildlife Act, 1976 provides protection against the cutting, grubbing and burning of hedgerow on uncultivated land during the nesting season from 15 April to 31 August, subject to certain exceptions. This year, as in previous years, Dúchas, the heritage service of my Department has written to all local authorities requesting that works to hedgerows be undertaken outside that crucial nesting period.

I am also aware that the Department of the Environment and Local Government has underlined, in its guidance notes to local authorities on the Roads Act, 1993, and its road grants memorandum, the importance of carrying out roadside trimming during the winter season and that the timing of trimming work and the manner of its execution should minimise damage to the ecology of hedgerows.

In relation to agriculture, the rural environment protection scheme, administered by my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture and Food, also promotes the conservation and maintenance of existing features that make up farmland habitat such as hedgerows. The Deputy should also be aware that the issue of hedgerow conservation is receiving consideration by me in the context of the forthcoming amendment of the Wildlife Act and I expect to bring forward a number of amendments which will seek to strengthen the protective provisions applying to hedgerows. Furthermore, under the national biodiversity plan which I am preparing, some possible measures to improve the conservation of hedgerows have been identified and I intend to afford further con sideration to those measures in the context of the finalisation of the plan.
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