Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

As the Ceann Comhairle said, these are topical issues. Last week, as we were approaching the cut-off period for the moratorium on controlled burning, which was 1 March, uplands across the country were ablaze. Quite a lot of it was in Kerry, in places such as the Killarney National Park, near the Mangerton area, the Dingle Peninsula, the western side of the MacGillicuddy's Reeks and Strickeen Mountain in the Gap of Dunloe. Crossing into west Cork, Mount Gabriel on the Mizen Peninsula was also affected. There were fires in the north of the Minister of State's constituency on the Blackstairs Mountains.

There were also some small fires on the Comeragh Mountains in my constituency. When I saw the pictures on social media earlier this week, I was in put in mind of something I recall very clearly from 1 September last year, just as we came out of the moratorium period. I was going to west Cork as part of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands visit to Bere Island. On 1 September, I could see the burn set in a line across the brow of the Comeragh Mountains. I came back two days later and the mountains were blackened.

I want to be very careful about language. We are talking about the season where controlled burning is allowed. What I observed last September on the Comeragh Mountains and what has been observed across west Cork and Kerry and on the Blackstairs Mountains can in no way, shape or form be described as controlled burning. I also want to be careful because there are Members who would like to put words in my mouth and say that I am vilifying or demonising certain communities; I absolutely am not. In fact, I visited the Comeragh Mountains recently and met with the people of the Comeragh Uplands and Communities EIP Project, including Mr. Willie Drohan and other members of the sheep farming community on the far side of the mountain from the Mahon Falls. They are equally as incensed about uncontrolled burning as I am because it reflects badly on them, their practices and how they manage their landscape.

As we all know, it also has a significant impact on our biodiversity. These are important breeding grounds for the likes of the red grouse, hen harrier, skylark and curlew. These are all amber- or red-listed birds. We find ourselves in a biodiversity crisis, yet we have this level of burning still happening on our mountainsides.

Controlled burning is legal and many responsible landowners engage in the practice. What we saw last weekend was not controlled. Have there been prosecutions for this kind of uncontrolled burning, which happens within season? The Minister of State has done great work on reforming the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS. How do we stand as regards the resource within the NPWS to police this kind of burning?

We also need to talk about funding for farmers because the fact of the matter is that this model is not working for sheep farmers either. It is the first thing they will tell you. They cannot make money on the wool. They make very little money on the sheep themselves and are forced into a system where they have to try to manage and control the landscape. What is the funding model doing? What is it pushing our farmers towards? Crucially, what is our long-term vision? When we look at these mountains and imagine how we want them to perform in terms of biodiversity, carbon sequestration and water management, what do those mountainsides look like? Is that vision being communicated to the people who know those mountainsides best and who, if properly funded and supported, would be best placed to make the changes in land use and management that are needed?

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