Calls for year-round ban on burning gorse in Kerry
Covering “gorse” County Show Picture Call January Council Drop Outs In Wildfires From Of Control To File A September This Year 46% To Figures Labelled Kerry Out
Uncontrolled wildfires in Kerry halved in 2022, compared to the same period last year, with a dramatic drop in illegal burning during March to September, when burning of commonage is banned under the Wildlife Acts.
However, a blanket of smoke which covered Dingle town before Christmas is leading to calls for a year-round ban on the practice of burning scrub.
The problem of wildfires is acute in Kerry. Most notably, in April 2021, the whole of Killarney National Park was threatened after a fire, sparked from within the park, got out of control.
It has not been established what caused the fire but gardaí believe it was accidental. A report commissioned by the National Parks and Wildlife Service is still awaited.
In the meantime, a spokesman for the National Parks and Wildlife Service said “the NPWS frequently meets with the Fire Officer and Local Fire Officer of Kerry County Council to discuss fire patrols, monitoring and other necessary activity with regard to fire prevention.”
Figures from Kerry County Council covering January to September show a 46% drop this year in call-outs to out-of-control wildfires labelled “gorse”.
These are at 111, down from 205 for the same period last year. Since 2010, the call-outs in this category have fallen by multiples of this figure from 600 in 2010 to 205 in 2021.
The dramatic drop is due to a number of reasons including public awareness but also the withdrawal of grants from farmers whose land is burned during the period in which this is illegal, the council says.
“The Department of Agriculture use satellite imagery to identify lands that have been burned and this is now ineligible under the Basic Farm payment scheme for farmers."
There is also greater understanding of good practice and controlled burning and in recent years the fire service is notified by farmers and hill grazers.
“It has become the pattern in Kerry that the vast majority of controlled burns are pre-notified to the Fire Control Centre and inappropriate fire service call-outs are avoided,” the council spokesman said.
However, a blanket of smoke that descended on Dingle on Thursday, December 15, has led to mounting anger in west Kerry with local GP and Green Party activist, Dr Peadar O’Fionnáin, questioning why gorse burning is allowed at any time during the year.
The GP spoke out after large numbers of people arrived at his surgery complaining of breathing difficulties. “Burning down an ecosystem for little reason. Why is this still legal?” Dr O’Fionnáin asked on twitter.
The dry spell before Christmas was taken advantage of by farmers as they are allowed to burn between September and the end of February. However the GP said this is leading to increases in asthma attacks and the use of inhalers.
Kerry County Councillor Johnny Healy-Rae is, however, calling for an extension of the burning season to take into account weather patterns in Kerry. “If they stop burning altogether, we will have complete overgrowth," Mr Healy-Rae said.
He wants the burning season extended so farmers can burn in March to encourage spring growth. This had been considered previously but it was not followed through.
“The reality is there is very little time - really only one week when you can burn, and the percentage of land being burned in Kerry is tiny,” the independent councillor said.