The Heritage Bill will now be in force after making its way through the Dáil and the Seanad. Limited hedge-cutting in August and controlled burning in March will be permitted.

The version of the bill adopted by the Seanad includes a controversial amendment limiting August cutting to “any hedge or ditch on the roadside”, as opposed to any “hedge or ditch” in the text originally proposed by the Government.

Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan said the provisions allowing the introduction of regulations for trimming one year’s growth on the road facing side of a hedge, on a pilot basis for two years during the month of August, strike a careful balance between the need for a robust conservation approach to our natural heritage and the need to protect road safety.

“The bill will also ensure that landowners dealing with fallen trees or other hazards, which they are obliged to do under the Roads Act, are not in breach of the Wildlife Acts by doing so,” she explained.

GLAS records

All farmers participating in GLAS should be aware of the record sheets they must maintain for the duration of the GLAS contract.

The Department says these record sheets will issue at the beginning of each year until the end of the contract.

All record sheets should be retained for the duration of the contract. To fill out the sheets, use the GLAS application summary, including maps, confirming the GLAS actions that you were approved to undertake – this will make the job much easier. In these sheets you must record the LPIS number where actions were carried out. Each GLAS action has a section in the record sheet and different information will be required depending on the type of action carried out.

For example, for bird boxes the sheets look for the LPIS number, the number of boxes installed and maintenance carried out, if any, including the date of installation of boxes.