Wildfires in Kerry halve in 2022 with illegal burning dropping dramatically

Uncontrolled wildfires in Kerry halved during 2022 compared to the same period last year, with a dramatic drop in illegal burning during the March to September period when burning of commonage is banned under the Wildlife Acts, preliminary figures show.

However, a blanket of smoke which covered Dingle town before Christmas is leading to calls for an all year round ban on the practice of setting a match the hills to clear gorse and scrub for grazing.

The problem of wildfires is acute in Kerry. In April 2021, the whole of Killarney National Park was threatened after a fire, sparked from within the park, got out of control. It has not been established what caused the fire but gardaí believe it was accidental. A report commissioned by the National Parks and Wildlife Service is still awaited.

In the meantime, a spokesman for the National Parks and Wildlife Service said “the NPWS frequently meets with the Fire Officer and Local Fire Officer of Kerry County Council to discuss fire patrols, monitoring and other necessary activity with regard to fire prevention.”

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Figures from Kerry County Council covering the period January to September show a 46 per cent decrease this year alone in call outs to out of control wildfires labelled “gorse”.

These are at 111, down from 205 for the same period last year

Since 2010 the call outs to this category have fallen by multiples of this figure from 600 in 2010 to 200 in 2021.

The dramatic drop is due to a number of reasons including public awareness but also the withdrawal of grants from farmers whose land is burned during the season when it is illegal to burn, the council says.

“The Department of Agriculture use satellite imagery to identify lands that have been burned and this is now ineligible under the basic farm payment scheme for farmers,” the council said.

There is also greater understanding of good practice and controlled burning and in recent years the fire service is notified by farmers and hill grazers.

However a blanket of smoke that descended on Dingle on Thursday, December 15th has led to mounting anger in west Kerry with local GP and Green Party activist Dr Peadar Ó Fionnáin questioning why gorse burning is allowed at any time during the year.

The GP spoke out after large numbers of people arrived at his surgery complaining of breathing difficulties.

“Burning down an ecosystem for little reason. Why is this still legal?” Dr Ó Fionnáin asked on Twitter.

The dry spell before Christmas was taken advantage of by farmers as they are allowed to burn between September and the end of February. However, this means any clear day is ruined for the rest of the town, the GP said and it is also leading to increases in asthma attacks and the use of inhalers.

Kerry County Councillor Johnny Healy-Rae is however calling for an extension of the burning season to take into account weather patterns in Kerry. If scrubland is not burned for grazing, the danger will actually increase.

“If they stop burning altogether, we will have complete overgrowth, ” Mr Healy-Rae said.

He is calling for the burning season to be extended so farmers can burn in March to encourage spring growth, saying that farmers are highly responsible when they undertake the practice.