GARDEN · 5 MIN READ
Hedge cutting and the law: the dates that matter
Six months closed, six months open, one exemption for the garden, and one rule that never switches off. What section 40 of the Wildlife Act actually says, what the Department says about your hedge, and what the fines have been.
IN SHORT
- Section 40 of the Wildlife Act 1976 makes it an offence to cut, grub, burn or otherwise destroy vegetation in any hedge or ditch, or on uncultivated land, between 1 March and 31 August. The season is open from 1 September to 28 February, and the Minister has no power to move the dates.
- Your garden hedge: the Department of Housing and Heritage's stated position is that summertime trimming in the ordinary course of gardening counts as horticulture and is exempt. Grubbing a hedge out is not trimming, burning is never exempt, and section 22 protects an active nest all year round.
- A summary conviction carries a class A fine of up to €5,000 per offence: a Kildare landowner was fined €15,000 on three summonses in 2025, and the NPWS opened 17 prosecutions last year.
What the Act says
Section 40 of the Wildlife Act 1976, as amended in 2000, prohibits the cutting, grubbing, burning or destruction by other means of vegetation growing on any land not then cultivated, and of vegetation growing in any hedge or ditch, during the period from 1 March to 31 August. The purpose is nesting birds. The NPWS's guidance adds that the Minister has no discretion to change these dates: there is no late-spring extension in a wet year and no early start in a dry one.
The exemptions are written into the section: the ordinary course of agriculture or forestry; the clearance of vegetation in the course of construction or site preparation where planning permission has been granted; the control of noxious weeds; works by public bodies for public health or safety; and, under section 70 of the Roads Act 1993, cutting a hedge that is a hazard to road users, which a landowner may do at any time. Burning is not covered by any exemption during the closed season.
Your garden hedge
The question every householder asks is whether the law covers a garden privet. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has answered it in a published reminder, last updated April 2025: agriculture includes horticulture, so "the summertime trimming of hedges in the ordinary course of gardening" falls within the exemption. Two caveats are the Department's own. Removing a hedge, or cutting it to the ground, is not trimming. And the exemption is not blanket: if a bird is nesting in the hedge, section 22 of the Act applies regardless of the date.
Section 22 makes it an offence to wilfully destroy, injure or damage the nest or eggs of a wild bird, or to disturb a bird on or near a nest containing eggs or young, at any time of year. gov.ie cites a €1,000 fine as an example. The practical rule for a gardener: in the open season, look before you cut; in the closed season, trim only, and only if nothing is nesting.
What the fines have been
Section 74 of the Act sets the penalty on summary conviction at a class A fine, up to €5,000 for each offence, and the courts have used it. In October 2025 Naas District Court fined a Kildare landowner €15,000 on three summonses for out-of-season hedgerow destruction, the maximum on each. The NPWS cites a €14,000 fine in Co. Laois. Farm-media reporting over recent seasons puts the typical range at €1,000 to €6,000, and farmers face a further cut to their Basic Payment on top.
Enforcement is rising. The NPWS initiated 17 section 40 prosecutions in 2025, five concluded and twelve before the courts when the Minister marked the start of the 2026 closed season in March, with the reminder that "there is no exemption to the burning of vegetation during nesting season". The NPWS opened 31 such prosecutions in 2021.
The season now open
The 2026 closed season ended on 31 August. Hedges can be cut from now until 28 February 2027. For a contractor cutting roadside or field hedges that means the work is legal; for a householder it means the one window in which a hedge can be taken hard back, or taken out, without a question of law, provided it is checked for late nests first. Hedgerows Ireland's advice, reported in October 2025, is that even in the open season hedges benefit from being left less manicured: cut on a two- or three-year rotation and leave the top to flower and fruit.
“There is no exemption to the burning of vegetation during nesting season.”
Minister Christopher O'Sullivan, NPWS statement, 3 March 2026
1 Mar–31 Aug
the closed season under section 40
€5,000
maximum class A fine per offence on summary conviction
€15,000
fine imposed on a Kildare landowner on three summonses, 2025
By the numbers — figures from the sources listed at the end of this piece.
WHAT TO DO NEXT
Hedge-cutting and garden services near you, with their rate and score — no account needed to look.WRITTEN WITH
The listed gardeners who gave their October lists and time for this piece. Real names, real listings — nobody is invented.
Magda NowakGardener · Lucan · ★ 4.9 · 64 reviews
Greenway GardensGarden maintenance · Swords · ★ 4.7 · 112 reviews
Ciara LynchHedge cutting · Rathfarnham · ★ 5.0 · 21 reviews
Questions this piece gets asked
Can I trim my garden hedge in June?
The Department's stated position is yes: trimming in the ordinary course of gardening is horticulture, and exempt. Check for nests first; section 22 applies all year, and 'trimming' does not cover removing the hedge.
My hedge is blocking the view at a junction. Do I have to wait until September?
No. A hedge that is a hazard to road users may be cut at any time under section 70 of the Roads Act 1993, and the council can require you to do it.
Who enforces it?
The National Parks and Wildlife Service, which can be contacted through npws.ie, and An Garda Síochána. Prosecutions are brought in the District Court.
Sources
- Wildlife Act 1976, section 40 (consolidated, NPWS)
- NPWS, Hedge cutting notice
- NPWS, Hedge cutting reminder (dates fixed)
- Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Reminder on hedge cutting and the law (updated 12 Apr 2025)
- Wildlife Act 1976, section 74 (revised)
- Kildare Nationalist, Kildare landowner fined €15k for hedgerow destruction out of season, 26 Oct 2025
- NPWS, Minister O'Sullivan calls for vigilance as nesting season begins, 3 Mar 2026
- Irish Farmers Journal, Hedge-cutting season Ireland: dates, rules and management tips, 22 Jul 2026
- Agriland, Hedge cutting laws, 27 Jun 2025
- Agriland, Annual hedge cutting ban now in place until September, Mar 2026
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Comments 3
TopNewest
- REAoife M.Customer · Dublin 8EDITOR'S PICK2 h ago
Found a hedgehog under the leaf pile last November exactly as described. Left it. It was gone by March.
- PRMarta R.Provider · Gardener · Lucan1 h ago
The tulip advice is right for here. I plant them the week after the Christmas lights go up and lose far fewer to rot.
- RECiara D.Customer · Cork40 min ago
Did not know the council charged for green waste. Explains the price on the last quote.
Signed-in Locufy customers and providers only. Comments close 30 days after publication. Report anything that names a person unfairly — we act on every report.
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