An investigation has been launched into a large-scale clearance of mature trees and hedgerows at Grianán Estate in Inishowen, after a Government official alleged a breach of environmental protection laws.
According to the Department of Agriculture, works at the 2,400 acre estate were on a “significantly larger scale”.
Department records, released under Freedom of Information to the Irish Times, show an official travelled there on April 20th last year after it was alerted to a “number of issues”.
In a letter on June 26th, a department official told his colleague in the specialised farm division that he found “unauthorised activity” on the protected land during the unannounced visit.
Donegal Senator Padraig MacLochlainn says today’s revelations are deeply worrying:
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