With our hedgerows now in full summer leaf, and as hawthorn berries and blackthorn sloes begin to ripen alongside sweet-smelling honeysuckle flowers, members and supporters of our Hedgerows Ireland group can be forgiven for hoping that our hedgerow corridors are a little safer from future destruction. This follows Judge Deirdre Browne’s imposition in March this year of a record €100,000 fine on a Coolmore company for extensive illegal hedgerow removal in Co Tipperary. Our organisation provided key evidence, including video footage, to Department of Agriculture inspectors which led to the successful prosecution under EU Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) regulations in Clonmel Circuit Court. While it is hoped this fine will act as a deterrent to illegal removal, hedgerows remain under ongoing threat. Current regulations in this area are ineffective and contradictory, and their application is patchy. Two conflicting sets of restrictions address hedgerow removal. Conditionality rules which govern farm payment schemes provide reasonable levels of protection to hedges. However the outdated EIA regulations have much higher thresholds for permitted removal. Bizarrely, the two systems are overseen by different sections of the Department of Agriculture, a recipe for confusion. In addition, rising agricultural land sale and leasing prices, allied to inadequate farm payment incentives for retaining and maintaining existing hedgerow corridors, are adding to the pressures on farmers to maximise output on every available acre in our productivity-driven food system. Alan Moore, secretary of Hedgerows Ireland, speaks during a protest outside Leinster House against the destruction of hedgerows in Ireland. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill/The Irish Times