Mr. Colm O'Donnell:

Yes. A farmer has to apply to the environmental section of the county council and notify An Garda Síochána and the fire service. If it is in a designated area, for example a special area of conservation, SAC, a farmer would have to look for permission from the National Parks and Wildlife Service to burn. The situation at the moment is crazy. I mentioned calendar farming in my submission. There is a requirement to give seven days' notice. It is not possible to give seven days' notice for the carrying out of a controlled burn in our climate. It should be no more than 24 hours because it is not practical otherwise. Many farmers around the table can testify to that. It is crazy that we have to give such notice.