The Cathaoirleach of the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee, and Fianna Fáil T.D. for Tipperary, Jackie Cahill has stated that common sense must prevail in the granting of exemptions for the burning of bushes and hedge trimmings on farms again this year.
Deputy Cahill’s comments come following confirmation that farmers will not be permitted to carry out this practice this year, and are instead expected to bring shredders onto their land to remove hedge trimmings and bushes.
Speaking on this today, Deputy Cahill said: “ There is an exemption given each year for farmers to burn bushes and hedge trimmings on their farms. This is a standard practice that many farmers carry out each year with very little impact to their surroundings.
“This exemption has not been signed for 2022 and I cannot understand why. I have contacted An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin and Minister Eamon Ryan in relation to this matter and have requested that it be rectified as a matter of priority. I have also raised this issue with Minister Charlie McConalogue to ask that the exemption be given for 2022.
“The suggestion that a machine could come onto someone’s farm and carry out this work is nonsensical. It would be both impractical and prohibitively expensive for a shredder to be brought onto each farm. With fields potentially inaccessible at this time of year for such works, and the fuel costs associated with transporting such a machine from one farm to the next, this suggestion is simply not a runner.”
“Common sense has to prevail here, and the granting of the exemption must come through”, Cahill concluded.
