A county councillor has claimed that “innocent farmers” are being penalised as a result of gorse fires in Co. Kerry.
Speaking today, Michael Cahill, a member of Kerry County Council, said that these fires have spread on to farmland.
At a meeting of Kerry County Council this month, Cahill called on Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue, and his department, to “assist these farmers and reinstate their full entitlements immediately”.
“Innocent farmers are being unfairly penalised over gorse fires that have been set elsewhere, but have spread onto and damaged their lands.”
“In Glenbeigh, in Killarney National Park, and in other parts of the county, we have seen where innocent farmers have had up to 30% or 40% of their payment entitlements removed because gorse fires damaged their lands, the fires having started elsewhere,” he said.
Cahill added: “They didn’t light these fires and we all know that gorse fires can spread out of control.”
According to the county councillor, some 32 farmers are affected in the areas of Keel, Boolteens East and Farnes, in the west of the county. Those affected are in an appeals process due to their payments being reduced.
“Many farmers are suffering financially at the moment and this has created a mightmare scenario for them.
“I am calling on Minister McConalogue and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to reinstate the entitlements to these farmers ‘ASAP’, where no wrongdoing on their behalf has been proven,” Cahill said.
Farmers penalised on Achill
It also appears that farm payments on Achill Island have been negatively impacted by burned land area.
Speaking earlier this month, Francie Gorman, a presential candidate for the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), claimed that the department had written to over 40 farmers on Achill “to inform them that their farm payments are being suspended due to a burning issue that occurred on the island last May”.
However, the department said that the remittance of payments in this case would not be affected, although it confirmed that penalties would apply to some of them.
“[The department] is aware of an area of burned land in the Achill area and has been in contact with the farmers affected in the area. Remittance of payments has been unaffected by this issue, however affected farmers will see the necessary reductions apply,” the department told Agriland.