CAP ‘missing out on an easy win’ on Ireland’s hedgerows

'There’s a lot about rejuvenating and replanting and new planting but nothing about existing hedgerow quality'

Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan includes some improvements for farmland biodiversity - “but it is not an emergency response”. Picture: iStock

The new CAP is good on new planting, but is “missing out on an easy win” with respect to Ireland’s hedgerows, according to a lobby group.

Alan Moore of Hedgerows Ireland told an Oireachtas committee that new CAP schemes should recognise and reward good hedgerow management.