Farmers who are not responsible for fires that affected their land “should be fully recompensed immediately”, senator Paddy Burke said this week.
Speaking in the Seanad, he said that the “only person who should be responsible at the end of the day is the person who caused the fire”.
“There was a huge fire in Killarney during the summer. Fires pose great problems for many people and many farmers,” the Fine Gael senator said.
“A fire on commonage, in forestry or on any land can be started by fishers, campers, hillwalkers or various people who can be lackadaisical in throwing away cigarette butts or starting a campfire for a picnic and failing to put it out properly, with the result that commonage, land or forestry in many cases can be burned.
“This leads to the destruction of habitats. The penalties are in place because of the destruction of habitats. This is most unfair.
“A fire can be started on one farm and spread to the next farm. All farmers are penalised. Commonage holders are also penalised.
“The result is that their farm payments [BPS payments] are reduced. The penalty is that no payment is made on the burnt land. There is also a penalty on the payment for the farmer’s remaining land.
Fires – only those responsible should be penalised
“Many farmers have appealed these decisions and where evidence was provided that the farmer did not start the fire, the Department [of Agriculture] removed the penalty on the remaining lands but still issued no payment on the burnt land. This is very unfair if a person is not responsible.”
The senator said that farmers must always appeal in these circumstances – and that they “should not have to do this”.
“Only the person found to have been responsible for starting the fire should be penalised,” he continued.
“There should not be any penalty imposed on any other farmer, landowner or recipient of farm payments.”
Fine Gael senator Seán Kyne added that farmers are “very aware of their responsibilities”.
“This has been rumbling for a long number of years with regard to responsibilities for protecting habitats and environments,” the senator said.
“Depending on conditions and at certain times of the year, fires can spread if started maliciously or accidentally by another individual.
“They can spread – pardon the pun – like wildfire across commonages, protected areas and forestry.
“In the Connemara area I have seen the aftermath of such destruction. I have seen fires that have taken place. Depending on the conditions and the time of year, they can run wild.
“Farmers are penalised and their payments are held up or stopped until such time as investigations take place.”
Minister of State Peter Burke, who was stepping in for the Minister for Agriculture during the session, said that Charlie McConalogue has raised this matter directly with Minister of State Martin Heydon and has advised that farmers “should appeal any decision taken regarding the basic payment scheme when fires occur through no fault of the applicant”.
“His department will examine potential ways to bring these farmers back into the scheme,” Minister Burke said.
“It should be noted that the land is only ineligible in the year the burning took place. It does not affect the land eligibility in subsequent years.”