Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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1194. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 106 of 2 June 2021, the membership of the inter-agency gorse fire group; the number of times the group has met in tabular form; if any reports were produced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31206/21]

Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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1195. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 106 of 2 June 2021 (details supplied), if he will outline the basis for the inter-agency gorse fire group being disbanded; if he proposes a similar group to be established; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31208/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1194 and 1195 together.

Control and enforcement under the Wildlife Act in relation to wildfires is a matter for DCHG/NPWS and the Garda Siochána. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is responsible for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) under which the Terms & Conditions clearly communicate that lands burnt outside of the legal period are not eligible for the purpose of payment under the BPS. The Department also regularly issue fire warnings depending on the weather and other parameters.

There is no national inter-agency gorse fire group to my knowledge and therefore no such group was disbanded. I am aware of a small number of local fire management groups located in Counties Cork, Kerry and Laois with representatives from different Government Departments, bodies and other stakeholders. These groups share information and coordinate activities related to wildfire awareness and preparedness.

In each of 2017 and 2018, a Lessons-Learned Review meeting was chaired by the Department following a particularly high number and significant wildfires in those years. The reports of the 2017 and 2018 meetings were presented to the Government Task Force on Emergency Planning.

There are no plans that I am aware of to establish a national wildfire group. In any case, such a group would in the first instance be a matter for my colleague the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government who is responsible at national level for emergency planning.