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Existing rules around land eligibility do not force people to excessively trim hedgerows, senior inspector with the Department of Agriculture Jack Nolan has said.
Nolan acknowledged there was an issue around rules for direct payments not lining up with the objectives of some rural development schemes to promote biodiversity.
However, speaking on a Teagasc webinar, he said: “At the moment, there's no problem with cutting your hedgerows on a rotational basis, there's no problem with only topping a hedgerow.
"So, I wouldn't agree that we're forcing people to make the box-shape hedges that you see in some parts of the country.”
“There is room for hedgerows there, but definitely more needs to be done around eligibility, and hopefully it will be done in the future.”
Rules
Under Pillar I, land has to be ‘clean’ to qualify for payment under area eligibility rules. Nolan stressed not everywhere needed to be cleaned off.
“Definitely there's a fear here, that areas that we're trying to support in Pillar II aren't supported in Pillar I. So people often bring up the area of eligibility.
"I get an inspection today, I'm told that the overgrown area in the corner, that's ineligible, I'm going to be penalised,” he said.
Work is under way in the next CAP to remove the contradiction, Nolan said, adding that Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed had made arguments to that basis at EU level.
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