Mr. Joe Condon:

To answer Deputy Fitzmaurice's question on whether we agree we come from managed landscapes, it has been academically shown that heather moorland has evolved due to a combination of burning and grazing. This is key to the argument. Traditionally and historically, this is how the area has evolved. It would be scrubland other than this. It needs continuous burning and grazing. It is up to the State, and us here today, to come up with solutions as to how this can be managed.

The land of many of the farmers we represent is actually managed for grouse as a grouse habitat. Without burning there is no such thing as grouse habitat, because various levels of heather height are required to suit the bird. Farmers are caught in a bind. They are caught agriculturally, whereby the amount of stock they can keeping on these areas is limited, and they are also limited from a heritage perspective as to what they can do with regard to burning. It is a straitjacket.