Irish laws around fires stuck '30 years' in past
Ecologist Pádraic Fogarty argues that Ireland's outdated fire management laws fail to deter illegal land burning. He advocates for restoring native forests, which he claims are naturally fire-resistant, to protect peatlands and biodiversity.
Why it matters
Updating land management legislation is critical for climate resilience and protecting carbon-sequestering peatland habitats.
Ecologist and author Pádraic Fogarty said Ireland’s laws around starting fires are stuck where they were "30 years ago".
Mr Fogarty said the "legislative framework, the fines that people place, the risk of prosecution for fires" has not progressed since then.
"The deterrent isn't there. In the very unlikely event that anybody gets caught and prosecuted for something like this, the fines might range to the hundreds of euro, which really is not a deterrent," he said.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Fogarty said controlled burning is a "bugbear" of his "because it is illegal to set fire to the land during the bird nesting season, which is from the 1 March to the end of August".
Yesterday, a wildfire on Slievenamon in Co Tipperary had "reduced significantly" , according to Tipperary County Council. However, firefighters were continuing to tackle a number of isolated hotspots.
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