The open period for hedge cutting begins one week from today, with landowners permitted to cut hedges or ditches from next Friday (September 1).
The period in which this practice is prohibited is March 1 to August 31, inclusive.
Therefore, the open period that begins next Friday will close on February 29 (as 2024 is a leap year).
Under Section 40 of the Wildlife Act, the cutting, grubbing, burning or other destruction of “vegetation growing in any hedge or ditch” is illegal between March 1 and August 31, annually.
There are some exemptions to the ban, including trimming hedges “in the ordinary course of gardening”; the clearance of vegetation for road or construction works; and cutting hedges to improve road safety.
Farmers who avail of a nitrates derogation must comply with specific additional requirements regarding hedgerow maintenance activity which are not part of the general requirements.
These additional requirements are set out in the terms and conditions for the nitrates derogation 2022.
These conditions were agreed between the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the European Commission last year as part of a renewal of Ireland’s nitrates derogation.
When cutting hedges, farmers who are availing of the nitrates derogation must include at least one biodiversity measure from two options taken from the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan.
The options are as follows:
- Leave at least one mature Whitethorn/Blackthorn tree within each hedgerow;
- Hedgerows shall be maintained on a minimum three-year cycle i.e. cut in rotation rather than all at once as this will ensure some areas of hedgerows on the farm will always flower.
This is among a range of measures derogation farmers currently have to undertake.
Earlier this month, a member of the Seanad advised farmers to ensure hedge-cutting machinery and equipment were serviced and ready to go at the start of the open period.
Senator Victor Boyhan said this month that the weeks following the beginning of the hedge-cutting season will be “a busy time for landowners”, adding that “it is clear to see that many hedges and ditches need to be cut back” in various parts of the country.
Due to the “very challenging” ash dieback problem which can be found in most roadside vegetation boundaries, trees will need to be felled in certain circumstances, he added.
Boyhan called on landowners to ensure they are especially mindful of health and safety, particularly around the use of heavy hedge-cutting machinery.
Landowners and farmers were also urged by Boyhan to make sure they only use fully insured personnel if cutting and clearance work on their farm is carried out by a contractor.