Farmers whose lands have been impacted by the recent wildfires are being urged to act immediately to protect the eligibility of their holdings and their direct payments.

The Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) has urged members to submit evidence to the Department of Agriculture confirming that they had not started the fire and had reported it to the relevant authorities.

Such action – which must be taken within 15 days of a fire breaking out – is necessary to ensure that CAP payments being claimed on burned commonage or hill lands are protected, since burned lands may be deemed ineligible by the Department, explained INHFA vice-president John Joe Fitzgerald. “The Department, meanwhile, should be proactive in reaching out to farmers in areas hit by wildfires to assure them that payments won’t be held up,” he insisted.

ADVERTISEMENT

Farmers have been wrongly blamed for many of the wildfires that broke out across the country during the recent heat wave, Fitzgerald claimed.

Worry

“This is a real worry. And it could cost farmers a lot of money. Junior minister Christopher O’Sullivan had to step in and correct matters when farmers were being blamed for a fire in Killarney National Park, which was not their fault at all,” he said.

“People need to realise that farmers are not the problem here,” the INHFA representative added.

With many of the wildfires blamed on disposable barbecues and campfires, Fitzgerald said there was an onus on the tourism sector to improve public awareness on the issue.

Meanwhile, IFA sheep chair Adrian Gallagher said rebuilding the national sheep flock, particularly in hill and mountain areas, is the obvious and most effective mechanism to manage the uplands and offset the threat of devastating fires.

“Abandoned and under-utilised land is the single biggest issue when it comes to large-scale fires,” Gallagher said.

“Historically, farmers managed these lands through grazing livestock and controlled burning.

“However, flawed and poorly thought-out policies under the narrative of the green agenda have contributed to these devastating fires that have the potential to put lives at risk and force farmers and farming from the hills,” he maintained.