Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To clarify the Deputy's first point, when I spoke about this issue on a local radio station in Kerry, I was speaking specifically about County Kerry. I am aware that fires also occurred in other locations that fall within special areas of conservation and special protection areas, which come within the remit of my Department.

Significant environmental damage is caused by illegal burning, which has become more acute in recent years, as evidenced by a recent spate of fires in various parts of the country. Under section 40 of the Wildlife Acts, burning of vegetation on uncultivated land is prohibited, without exception, from 1 March until 31 August, primarily as a means of protecting nesting and breeding birds and preventing forest fires. There is no evidence, however, that these dates are a cause of widespread fires. There may well be a link between at least some of the burning and other clearance of vegetation to ensure land is eligible for the basic payment scheme beginning this year. The scheme is administered by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. While land eligibility is primarily a matter for that Department, my Department has raised concerns about ecological and other risks posed by inappropriate burning arising from eligibility issues under the basic payment scheme. I understand my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Simon Coveney, has pursued options for farmers with marginal lands to meet the requirements of the direct payment regulations.

A guidance booklet has been issued by his Department to address the issue of land eligibility in Natura 2000 sites and burning in the wider countryside.

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