The Heritage Bill will propose very significant changes to how we protect our natural heritage in Ireland, according to Senator Alice Mary Higgins.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal this week, she said these changes could pose a risk to Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments, climate-change fines and our wildlife habitats.

“At the moment we have a six-month closed season and six month open season. What this legislation will do is allow for burning in March and allow for cutting in August – and that cuts right through the nesting season and key pollinator season.”

Higgins said we need to look at regulating how burning is done in Ireland. She said we need to fix that in the six months that it’s currently allowed, before we extend it and allow the same kind of “ad hoc” approach to burning that extends into March.

“Given the amount of habitat that has been lost this year, we have to say is this the time to be ploughing ahead with untested, non-scientifically based legislation, which is going to jeopardise our habitat further.”

“Overall, I do worry that the legislation will weaken our case at a point when the next set of payments on CAP is being negotiated.

“Ireland relies very heavily on greening payments. In many other countries, they have huge areas of upland forestry, so they are able to hit their targets in terms of greening. We are really weakening our case to prove that our hedgerows are a bio-diverse environment and therefore qualify for protection payments.”

Higgins said that, through this legislation, we are also jeopardising ourselves in terms of fines on climate change, as these are going to be increasing. “What we’re not doing in the hedgerows, that pressure is going to come onto other areas of farming. I think we’re putting ourselves in longer-term danger for a very short-term concession to a small lobby in the farming community.”

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