Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Connolly for raising this very serious issue. As she mentioned, I visited Cloosh Valley in County Galway on Monday and saw for myself the utter devastation caused by the wildfire that raged there until Thursday, 11 May 2017, when it was finally brought under control.

As I commented during my visit, fire poses a serious risk to life, homes, and property. Forestry and wildlife habitats are also destroyed. I understand that while a wildfire risk can quickly develop following dry weather patterns in all areas where flammable vegetation such as grasses, gorse and heather are present, especially in proximity to forests and other assets, most fires may have been started deliberately. To set a fire at this time of the year is not only illegal but also totally irresponsible. As we are all aware, the burning of vegetation is controlled by the Wildlife Acts. It is an offence under section 40 of the Wildlife Act 1976 to burn from 1 March to 31 August in any year any vegetation growing on any land not then cultivated. Individuals who are found to burn vegetation within that prohibited period are liable to prosecution by An Garda Síochána or by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. My Department has no role in this regard.

Forest fires have a wide range of impacts. With Cloosh Valley, I understand approximately 1,500 ha of forestry was destroyed and a similar area of bogland was destroyed on the perimeter, which is where the fire spread from. This is huge loss and the estimates come to approximately €4 million. To put this in context, the level of new planting annually for which grants have been paid over the last couple of year is in the region of 6,500 ha, so losing 1,500 ha in one foul sweep like this gives an indication of how massive was this incident.

With respect to cost, there is the loss of the value of the timber crop itself and the reconstitution costs. There were also the immediate costs involved in fire suppression as incurred by Coillte and the other agencies and bodies, such as the Galway fire service and the Air Corps, which were involved in monitoring and fighting the fires. In a time of budgetary control, such outbreaks put a heavy strain on all these bodies. Coillte, for example, has estimated the costs to be in the millions of euro. Other costs, which are difficult to quantify, include the disruption to normal fire service operation and the diversion of emergency services resources away from other life-saving operations.

I have focussed on the impact on my immediate area of responsibility, namely forestry, but should advise that another impact is the risk to payments under the basic payment scheme, as I advised in my statement yesterday. Officials in my Department are currently analysing a wide range of satellite imagery to identify land burnt illegally during the specified closed season for burning. Historic satellite imagery is also being examined as part of this process. Agricultural and eligible forestry land identified as burnt illegally as part of this investigation will be deemed ineligible for payment under the 2017 basic payment and other area-based schemes. I want to stress in this regard that my Department will not tolerate incidents of illegal burning of land and will take all necessary actions to ensure compliance with the conditions of the various EU-funded area-based schemes, including reducing payments and penalties where applicable.

Another issue is the threat to health. The Health Service Executive issued a public statement last week about the recent gorse fires, advising that people should limit the amount of time spent outdoors in areas affected by any smoke or ash. I understand that smoke inhalation can have adverse effects, especially on vulnerable groups.

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