Sir, – I have been following with interest the correspondence and coverage surrounding what is said to be “wanton destruction” of hedgerows by Irish Rail. If you want to witness habitat vandalism that is even more brutal, look no further than the Ballyconnell and Ballinamore canal system, and the Jamestown Cut on the Shannon near Drumsna, both under the control of Waterways Ireland.
Heavy equipment has wrought terrible damage on trees and bushes along these waterways, with large branches left shredded and bare.
On the Jamestown Cut kingfishers had been making quite a comeback but on a recent trip down the waterway I saw not a single bird.
Waterways Ireland refer to the procedure as “trimming”, when “stripping” would be a more appropriate term. I note that Waterways Ireland recently apologised for mistakenly cutting down mature trees along the picturesque stretch of the Barrow between Rathvinden and Milford last month. It looks like that cavalier approach to the surrounding environment is reflected in the brutal treatment of stretches of the Shannon and Ballyconnell-Ballinamore waterways. – Yours, etc,
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DAVID DAVIN POWER,
Dublin 9.
Sir, – In the week when the UK has decided it needs to plant 200,000 miles of hedgerows and plant three billion trees as part of its efforts towards a zero carbon emission economy, Ireland continues to grub up its ancient and ecologically rich hedges whenever a new house is built in the country.
Irish county council planning departments need to insist people building in the countryside retain the ancient roadside hedges instead of bulldozing them away and replacing them with barren walls.
It is quite amazing that people see no merit in these hedges, destroying in minutes what have taken centuries to grow.
There needs to be a big change of heart. We can hardly criticise others for destroying the environment when we so thoughtlessly do the same ourselves. – Yours, etc,
JUSTIN BASQUILLE,
London.