One of Ireland's laws will change at midnight, with thousands of people set to be affected.
It falls under Section 40 of the Wildlife Act of 1976 and affects hedges.
The law states that it it is an offence to destroy vegetation on uncultivated land between the 1st of March and the 31st of August each year.
It specifically states: It shall be an offence for a person to cut, grub, burn or otherwise destroy during the period beginning on the 1st day of March and ending on the 31st day of August in any year, any vegetation growing on any land not then cultivated.
Furthermore, it shall be an offence for a person to cut, grub, burn or otherwise destroy any vegetation growing in any hedge or ditch during the period mentioned in the above dates.
While generally, hedge cutting and the clearance of vegetation is restricted to the six-month period September to February, it is important to point out that the legislation allows both landowners and public authorities to address hedges for road safety reasons at any time of the year.
Why are there laws around cutting hedges?
A statement from the Government explains: "In Ireland, where there is relatively low cover of native woodland, hedges are of exceptional importance in providing food and shelter and habitats and corridors for maintaining wildlife diversity, particularly for birds, but also for other fauna and for wild plants.
"Wrens, dunnocks, robins, thrushes and willow warblers as well as many rarer species depend greatly on hedgerow habitats.
"In general, untrimmed, thorned hedgerows containing shrubs such as blackthorn, whitethorn, holly, briars and brambles are favoured by birds as they provide food, shelter, nesting places and protection from predators during the breeding season."
