Protect and preserve our hedgerows

Tipp participants at Dublin protest

Hedgerows Ireland, including many representatives from Tipperary, organised a demonstration outside Leinster House demanding better payments and protections for native hedgerow corridors.

The group wanted to draw attention to the ongoing removal of upwards of 3,000 kilometres of hedgerow each year, which they say is directly due to policy failure by the Department of Agriculture.

The protest event turned out to be a very lively and well attended one with a crowd of over one hundred supporters and a very significant number of TDs coming out to meet the protesters and hear their concerns. This included Minister Charlie McConalogue, Minister Malcolm Noonan, Senators Garret Ahearn and Tim Lombard, TDs Jackie Cahill, Roisin Garvey, Jennifer Whitmore, Chris O'Sullivan and Brian Leddin.

Hedgerow Ireland supporters came from all over the country including a coach load from Tipperary courtesy of Kavanaghs of Urlingford and of note included representatives from groups including beekeepers, huntsmen, game shooters, farmers, fishermen, the Doctors for the Environment, Irish Countrywomen’s Association, nature lovers and others. There were speeches by the organisers and an open mic session where several spoke of their upset at loss of hedgerows in their locality.

A key message was that most landowners and contractors are doing a fantastic job, but a small minority are causing a great deal of damage. A department regulation that allows up to half a kilometre of hedgerow to be removed without any environmental assessment is believed to be responsible for a great deal of damage. A failure by the department to reward farmers for good quality hedgerows compounds the problem. Hedgerows Ireland have written to the minister asking for both issues to be addressed.

The event concluded with a march from Dail Eireann to the Dept of Agriculture and the formal letter to Minister McConalogue was delivered to a department official at the front door of the building.

In their letter the group outlined how 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.

They are callilng for 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 are now requesting an early meeting with the Minister of Agriculture to discuss these proposals in more detail.

They thanked Con Traas at the Apple Farm for the courtesy boxes of apples, and David Anchell of Camida, Clonmel, for helping out with the coach hire.