Tag Archives: Wildlife Act

MORE than 130 landowners in the Killaloe Municipal District have been contacted and reminded about their obligations to maintain hedges while the season is open until the end of February. The figure was revealed at last week’s meeting of the district committee, on foot of a motion from Councillor Pat Burke. The Whitegate member sought an update after raising the issue previously last November. There was widespread support when Councillor Burke raised the matter and told the meeting that drivers, particularly those in high-sided vehicles, were losing windscreens and wing mirrors on a regular basis.  In a written response to Councillor Burke, Niamh Madden, Senior Executive Engineer, said many landowners had complied with correspondence from the authority, but that a number of them had not.  “Between September 2021 and December 2021, one hundred and thirty five letters have been sent by the Killaloe Municipal District to land owners/occupiers outlining their obligations under under S70 of the Roads Act 1993 and …

Clare County Fire and Rescue Service is advising landowners to desist from burning activities due to a heightened risk of gorse, forest and bog fires. The Fire Service says the warm, dry weather, combined with easterly winds, has created “tinderbox” conditions across the county Firefighters from Ennis, Kilrush and Ennistymon responded to one of the largest wildfires of the year to date last evening when two square kilometres of bog and gorse were scorched on Ben Dash, located between Lissycasey and Kilmaley. Brigades were in attendance for nearly 11 hours at fires in the area. With forecasts suggesting a return to drier conditions early next week, following some light rain this weekend, the Fire Service says the risk posed by uncontrolled burning remains high. Denis O’Connell, senior assistant chief fire officer said that there has been significant damage to forestry and land as a result of last night’s fire. He also asked that people are vigilant and that they call the …

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Tom Hayes has today reminded forest owners and managers, farmers and members of the public of the need to be alert to the risk of wildfires over the coming weeks. “In recent years we have experienced a number of major wildfires that destroyed or damaged property, including farmland and forests. These events endanger people’s homes, place enormous strain on the resources of the emergency services and put the lives of rural dwellers and emergency service personnel at considerable risk,” he said. The minister noted that following dry weather patterns, a wildfire risk can quickly develop in all areas where flammable vegetation such as grasses, gorse and heather are present, especially in proximity to forests and other assets. He has asked land owners, rural dwellers and other land users to maintain a high degree of vigilance regarding fire over the coming months. Suspicious activity should be reported to the gardaí and uncontrolled or …

IFA Environment chairman, Harold Kingston has said  the review of the  controls under the Wildlife Act governing the control of burning and hedge-cutting launched by the Minister for Arts Heritage & the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys is long overdue. “ The current rules are impractical and unnecessary and have been in need of amendment for a more flexible approach.The period of time for hedge-cutting should be extended as the window to carry out the necessary management of hedges and trees are impractical from both farming and a public safety point of view,” Mr Kingston said. In relation to the burning of heather, IFA Hill Committee chairman, Pat Dunne said that IFA has put forward that the dates needed to be changed in line with other countries such as the UK, where the burning dates are from September 1 until mid-April, as opposed to Ireland where the date is between September 1 and February 28. Pat Dunne said burning of heather is …