'Farmer bashing' after Kerry fires 'disappointing,' says IFA
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A three-day blaze in Killarney National Park in Co Kerry was finally brought under control on Monday after the combined efforts of Kerry County Council fire crews, the National Parks and Wildlife Services (NPWS), three Air Corps helicopters and local volunteers battled hard to contain the flames.
However, tempers have started to heat up over the potential cause of the massive fire that caused huge damage to habitats and wildlife.
Social media speculation laying the blame at farmers clearing land for grazing in upland areas has been rejected by the Kerry branch of the Irish Farmers Association (IFA).
Speaking to Radio Kerry, the chair of the Kerry branch of the IFA Kenny Jones said the recent "farmer bashing" in response to the fires has been disappointing.
Mr Jones hopes an investigation by gardaí will uncover the cause of the fire soon and that plans are needed to organise the management of land in mountainous areas.
“I would just like to say while I have the opportunity, the social media at the moment, how disappointing it is to see the farmer bashing that’s going on the last couple of days, for want of a better phrase," said Mr Jones.
“It seems as if this fire was started inside the park by accident or whatever and hopefully an investigation by the guards will find out as to the cause of the fire.
“Farmers beside the park are big losers here as well, the loss of grazing and making their land ineligible for payment purposes and so on," he added.
The IFA chair said compensation would be sought on behalf of its members for damage done to grazing lands and said better access is needed in case of future fires.
“ [..] Nobody wants to burn at this time of the year because it would be months before this area was burnt would green up.
“Where the park is built, there’s 26,000 acres under the control of the National Parks and Wildlife Service and it seems from what we can gather is that there was no management plan in place for this area.
“There were no fire breaks, or access points for a catastrophe of this nature, it was burning for two days before it got to the periphery and the fire tenders could get in, the only access was from there.
“Management of our mountains as with regards grazing and controlled burning needs to continue otherwise we will have a repeat of this situation in the future,” said Mr Jones.
Local conservationists are now calling for long-term strategies to be put in place to prevent and better tackle fires, including greater staffing, and claim that these issues have gone unaddressed for the last four decades.
Press Statement: We're calling for a full investigation into the causes & consequences of the fire in KillarneyNP
— Irish Wildlife Trust (@Irishwildlife) April 26, 2021
We also call on @DarraghOBrienTD @pippa_hackett @noonan_malcolm @McConalogue to initiate an emergency response to break the cycle of infernoshttps://t.co/gKv5Qeeu47
Any investigation into the fire in the Killarney National Park must not be just about the cause but must address the real extent of the damage including air pollution as well as improved management of woodland, said the Irish Wildlife Trust.