Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal after the Lakeland milk quality awards ceremony in Virginia, Co Cavan, this Monday, Minister Humphreys said the legislation she proposed to extend hedgecutting and vegetation burning periods before the general election was most likely to come back before the Oireachtas at the autumn session. If adopted, it could apply from next spring.

“I’ve got agreement from cabinet that that bill will come back to where it left off,” she said. “I hope I may get it started before this session is over, but it’s likely it will be in the autumn sitting.”

Listen to an interview with Minister Humphreys in our podcast below:

The Heritage Bill introduced last December would allow hedgecutting in August and burning in March, under defined conditions, during a two-year pilot phase.

The bill was not adopted before the election and legislation has remained unchanged so far.

“I don’t think we’ll have time to get it through before the end of this year,” Minister Humphreys said, though she added: “The councils do have authority if there’s a health and safety issue. They can cut the hedge in terms of road safety.”

Repsonsibility split on National Broadband Plan

Minister Humphreys also clarified that the National Broadband Plan expected to bring high-speed internet to rural Ireland remains under the responsibility of Minister for Communications Denis Naughten, while she is in charge of clearing the way for the associated infrastructure to be built locally.

“It falls with myself and Minister Denis Naughten. Both of us are working very closely together,” she said.

The Department of Communications will award the tenders to companies contracted to deliver subsidised broadband to those areas where the service is not commercially viable. This represents 30% of the population, but 96% of Ireland’s land mass, Minister Humphreys said.

I want to work closely with local authorities in setting up a broadband task force so that when the broadband plan is ready to be rolled out and the contracts have been signed, there are no roadblocks

“When the contracts are signed, I will then have responsibility for rollout in rural Ireland,” she said. “But in the meantime, there’s a lot of work I can do and I want to work closely with local authorities in setting up a broadband task force so that when the broadband plan is ready to be rolled out and the contracts have been signed, there are no roadblocks in the counties that are ready to get broadband such as planning permission and ducting.”

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