A company in Ireland was fined €100,000 after removing more than a kilometre of ancient hedgerows and making changes to agricultural land boundaries without complying with legislation. The violations occurred between 2022 and 2023 and were detected during an inspection by the Irish Department of Agriculture, which had been triggered by a complaint from a member of an association dedicated to hedgerow and biodiversity protection.
During the inspection, authorities found that approximately 1,150 metres of mature hedgerows had been removed, exceeding the 500-metre limit permitted without prior environmental impact assessment. The company pleaded guilty to four violations. The interventions also altered property boundaries beyond what was permitted and included the removal of two earth banks whose elimination had been expressly prohibited by the Department of Agriculture in 2022. Some of the removed hedgerows dated back to the 18th and 11th centuries.
The penalty was initially set at €150,000 but was reduced to €100,000, considering the company's guilty plea, public acknowledgment of errors, and implementation of preventive measures. Of the final amount, two fines of €16,666 were applied for the removal of hedgerows and two fines of €33,334 for the elimination of earth banks. The maximum possible fine could have reached €250,000. According to information presented in court, approximately 50 years would be needed for the site to recover a level of biodiversity similar to that existing before the interventions.
