A COMPANY OWNED by stud farm Coolmore has been fined €100,000 after pleading guilty to four charges of breaching environmental regulations through the removal of more than 1 kilometre of hedgerows in Co Tipperary.

It is the latest in a series of decisions against the bloodstock conglomerate owned by billionaire magnate John Magnier, following last year’s legal battle over Barne Estate.

Shem Drowne Ltd, whose directors are Coolmore executives David Gleeson and Conor Spain, pleaded guilty last December to charges brought by the Department of Agriculture on foot of a complaint by Alan Moore of Tipperary-based environmental group Hedgerows Ireland.

Judge Deirdre Browne issued her ruling in Clonmel Circuit Court this morning after hearing submissions on what the sentence should be from the company’s barrister on Wednesday.

She said that while “environmental offences can occur where no harm is in fact done”, where harm is done, “it is in an injury caused to the community.”

“Landowners are custodians of the natural environment for the rest of us. They are obliged to protect the natural environment by using their land in accordance with the law so that habitats are protected and biodiversity maintained.”

First prosecution under EU regulations

Michael Delaney SC, acting for Shem Drowne, had noted it was the first prosecution of a company for hedgerow destruction under EU environmental regulations and there was no precedent or benchmark for sentencing.

He told the court the defendants “deeply regret the failings that led to the breaches” and claimed that “the wider Coolmore organisation” has since instituted “internal controls” to prevent a repeat of the offences.

He also said the company had donated €15,000 each to the Native Woodland Trust and the Society of St Vincent de Paul as a gesture of goodwill.

The company removed around 1.15 kilometres of hedgerow on lands at Ballygerald East, New Inn between September and October 2022 without carrying out Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) screening.

EIA screening is required for the removal of more than 500 metres of hedgerow.

The company also removed field boundaries on the same dates, creating a field in excess of five hectares without a required EIA screening.

Following an inspection of the site, the Department of Agriculture issued a Prohibition Notice to stop all works on 4th October 2022.

However, between December 2022 and September 2023, the works resumed at the direction of Coolmore farm manager Joe Holohan, and the intact clay banks of the hedgerow – which could have been used to regenerate it – were destroyed.

In addition to breaching the Prohibition Notice, this created a field of approximately 18.5 hectares – again without any EIA screening.

Holohan claimed in a cautioned interview he was not aware of the need for the screening and that he did not intend to disrespect the Prohibition Notice when he approved the resumption of works.

However, Judge Browne noted Holohan had been explicitly instructed not to remove the clay banks by a Department official when the Notice was issued.

She set a headline figure of €150,000 across the four charges, reduced in mitigation to €100,000.

Department of Agriculture evidence

Imogen McGuinness, a senior investigator with the Department of Agriculture, told the court in December that the hedgerows dated from the 1700s and were an important source of biodiversity as a habitat for both flora and fauna.

She noted that over 2,200 km of new hedgerows planted on the site were “not like for like”, as they were single species and provided no food or shelter for wildlife, which Delaney said the defendants accepted.

In mitigation, he said that neither Shem Drowne nor other companies in the Coolmore group had any previous convictions, that the company had cooperated fully with inspectors at all times and that the defendants had pleaded guilty at the earliest possible opportunity.

He also submitted a 29-page report from Coolmore’s sustainable agriculture manager, John Corbett, which called Coolmore a wonderous haven for nature”.

David Humphries BL, acting for the Director of Public Prosecutions, said the company had not put this report to McGuiness when she was a witness in December, nor did it call any witnesses of its own.

He said the report contained “professional photography of a selective nature” and several of the plants featured were non-native species.

Hedgerows Ireland reaction

Speaking outside Clonmel Courthouse after sentencing, Alan Moore told gathered supporters that Hedgerows Ireland welcomes the conviction, which he said “sends a clear message that environmental laws apply to everyone”.

Moore said mature native hedgerows are vital wildlife corridors and provide flooding defences as well as storage for carbon.

“When they are removed there are very serious consequences for the landscape,” he added.

“While we realise that Coolmore will be unhappy about the negative impact of this conviction on their reputation, we believe that it will serve as a more general deterrent to future hedgerow removal in this country.”

“We warmly welcome Coolmore’s newly stated commitment to the preservation and enhancement of existing hedgerows using best practice guidelines. This is good news.”

Moore also repeated a request to meet with Coolmore owner John Magnier to discuss “a more sustainable approach to landscape management” and invited Coolmore to give input on “a Tipperary hedgerow rejuvenation project” in conjunction with Hedgerows Ireland.

Coolmore statement

In a statement after today’s court ruling, a spokesperson for Coolmore said that the breach was “entirely at odds with the broader sustainability and biodiversity efforts of Coolmore”, which has use of the lands.

“On average one in every five acres farmed by Coolmore is protected for the natural environment and wildlife,” the spokesperson said.

“Coolmore is also investing millions of euro in renewable energy and agri-tech initiatives to ensure its activities are strongly climate positive and to promote sustainability efforts across the agri-sector.”