The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has issued a warning to landowners and members of the public to be mindful of fire risks during the current hot weather.

DAFM has issued a condition orange, high fire risk warning which runs until midday on Monday, May 19.

The department also activated its fire danger rating system back in March for the 2025 fire season, and the current fire warning is the seventh such notice issued this year.

So far more than 3,000ha of land are known to have been affected by fires this year, mostly on open bog and mountain lands.

Fire Danger Notices issued by DAFM give forest owners and land managers time to prepare for oncoming periods of fire risk. 

The Minister for Agriculture, Martin Heydon said: "Given the fire risk on bog and mountain land in Spring, it is important that no one should start an illegal fire in these areas.

"We have seen this unfold for real in some of our rural communities in recent weeks during the unusually dry spring. Nobody should light fires in bogs, forests or other potentially flammable areas at this time of year," Minister Heydon added.

Minister Heydon believes that the farming community has the most important role to play in the control of fire in our landscapes through the appropriate management of land, vegetation and potential fuel.

The reduction and maintenance of high-risk vegetation (such as purple moor grass, heather, and gorse/whin) in high fire risk areas is critical to managing this risk.

Minister of State with special responsibility for Forestry, Farm Safety and Horticulture, Michael Healy-Rae, has advised forest owners and managers to check and update fire plans and other relevant contingencies such as insurance, access, water points, and private helicopter contracts.

He said: "People living in rural areas should also assess wildfire risks to their properties and prepare accordingly.

"People living in rural areas should also assess wildfire risks to their properties and prepare accordingly," he added.