Contradictory rules regarding hedge removal could lead to farmers being in breach of Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) rules.

That is according to Hedgerows Ireland's Alan Moore.

Regulations from the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) allow for up to 500m hedge removal or creation of a field up to 5ha.

However, rules under Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC) Standard 8 are far more "stringent" than those from the EIA, and must also be adhered to, according to Moore.

Farmers are now being warned that failure to adhere to GAEC rules could lead to penalties and a loss of BISS payments.

According to Moore farmers could potential run foul of GAEC rules but believe they are adhering to EIA rules and simply not realise that there are more conditions they must follow.

GAEC rules

Under GAEC 8, hedges are classified as a landscape feature qualifying for BISS payments.

The standard outlines the three 'exceptional circumstances' under which a landscape feature may be removed:

Building work: Farmyard expansion/widening gaps to facilitate access for larger machinery;
Road safety issues: where an unacceptable level of risk has been identified by the Local Authority, the National Roads Authority or the gardaí, such as a laneway that is too narrow for modern machinery or commercial vehicles;
Farm safety issues: machinery access or when a hedgerow grows in a field with a high gradient (in excess of 15% in arable land or 20% in grassland) to avoid the farmer turning on a steep hill.

The exemption is limited to the minimum length necessary, meaning that people may only remove as much of the landscape feature as is needed exactly.

Removing a hedge or landscape feature between two fields is not considered exceptional circumstances.

Due to established landscapes having more time to grow and develop, older hedgerows are more valued for providing wildlife habitats.

The GAEC requires hedgerows removed to be replaced with a newly planted one double the length to make up for the loss of an established hedge.

Hedgerows Ireland

Alan Moore has highighlighed the impact that "inconsistencies" could have on farmers.

He said: "It's a source of great concern to our group, there's a clear disconnect between two sets of regulations regarding hedgerow removal.

"We - Hedgerows Ireland - believe that people need to be aware that they could get caught, we're bringing people up to speed on a regulation that they need to be aware of.

"It's like there was two different authors writing a script and coming up with a different answer," he said.

Key differences

In contrast to the GAECs tight rules, EIA screening is only required if a farmer removes a field boundary/hedgerow longer than 500m, removes boundaries creating a field larger than 5ha or if an accumulative 500m are removed in a five year period by the same person.

These multiple layers to the rules makes navigating the legalities about hedge cutting far more difficult than one would assume.

Farmers must successfully navigate several pieces of overlapping legislation, from the Wildlife Act, to the Roads Act, to EIA and GAEC rules.