Mr. Niall Ó Donnchú:

Those were really good questions about burning. Mr. Bleasdale is going to take them because there is no simple answer. I have heard him address this. The burning season is open for six months of the year. As an organisation, we are not for an extension of it because it is open for six months of the year. Uncontrolled burning is a genuine challenge. We are always conscious we are a stray cigarette away from devastation. What strikes you when you have been where uncontrolled burning has happened is the silence. It will have devastated everything in its line of fire. I spoke about that point earlier and am glad the Senator acknowledged it.

As I have said at committee meetings before, our first port of call is not the farmer when there is an uncontrolled fire. We have never suggested that. We have seen several examples of what goes on. Thankfully, so far this year we did not have to deal with any horrendous fires in high-nature areas, but we are very conscious of the problem. This is where education is really important. We spoke earlier about education, prevention and early detection and the need to address the issue as quickly as possible.

Controlled burning, as the Senator referred to it, is a complex area. Mr. Bleasdale will address it, if that is okay.