The Singedom

at

Portmagee Gorsefire210415FirescaherdanielWildfiredamageApril4 WildfireDamageApril15

Ah lads.

Jerry O’Sullivan, presenter of Kerry Today on Radio Kerry, writes:

Above is just Just a selection of pictures from all over Kerry in the past month since the ban on burning came into force on March 1.  There has been a 700% rise in this illegal burning compared to last year. Environmentalists are enraged at habitat and biodiversity destruction.
Kerry Fire service and NPWS are yet to count the cost that is likely to run into the hundreds of thousands possibly more. Farmers say if they don’t clear land they lose out on single farm payments and want the ban on burning land lifted. Because it’s illegal the burning is not controlled and the Fire service isn’t getting a heads up in advance. The Department has set up a crisis room….in Dublin. Some men just want to watch the world burn eh?

Anyone?

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36 thoughts on “The Singedom

  1. Bob

    Can anyone explain how farmers will lose the single farm payment if the ban is left in place?

    1. ahjayzis

      I *think* it’s been reformed to be based on area of land and that areas like gorse don’t count towards the payable acreage, so if you torch it you can claim it or something?

      1. Small Wonder

        The payment is for agricultural land. If, god forbid, the land should go wild with things growing naturally, then the farmers don’t get their payment. So they scalp the place trying to maximise their funds. It’s a ridiculous situation, but there’s no excuse for farmers protesting with illegal burning. They’re supposed to be guardians of natural resources. If they show this level of disregard for the environment, they should have their farms taken off them.

        1. Lan

          No sorry SM but you are encouraged to manage land for the maximum value to the environment too. For instance SAC have to be cleared of dead grass over winter for farmland birds so if its obviously not being farmed then its not good for things like Curlew or Corncrake.

          This burning though is nonsense, controlled burning that was practiced in the past was a more limited affair the extent this year is inexcusable

        2. Starina

          In my experience, most farmers are the most anti-nature people ever. They’re only interested in how they can use the land for profit — no concept of sustainability. It’s totally baffling.

          1. Lan

            In your experience? No doubt you’ve talked to hundreds if not thousands! No doubt you were surprised that they all didnt wax lyrical about the birds and flowers?

            I find people who say farmers are anti-nature just have a grudge against farmers for other reasons….
            As for farmers being uniformly anti-nature theres plenty of evidence that thats horseshit. 1000s of farmers who abide by the enviro regulations, 1000s of farmers who take on extra work to improve the environment (both in schemes where they’re compensated and outside schemes)

      2. Lan

        Thats the thing they wont! The Dept have been very clear that if it has been burned off, they still wont be able to declare it on their SFP.

        The confusion arises from a very simple thing: the payment is now spread over area but only area that is in Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC) is counted. That means basically that its not completely overgrown, allowances are made obviously but if land is completely covered in gorse or say dead brown rush then its obviously not being farmed or managed and MUST be excluded.
        To be extra clear here, bringing in more land will not give these farmers any more money, it’ll just mean they’ll lose less (of their fairly low payment)

        1. parky mark

          How will the department know? It’s all based off satellite imagery anyway and will burned areas will have regrown by the next image sweep.

          1. Lan

            Cross compliance inspections. The maps have already been issued so on them the land will be covered with gorse. To be accepted you have to dispute them and say it has been cleared since. Saying that will be a red flag to the Dept, increasing the chance of inspection

  2. Spaghetti Hoop

    Burning was banned and now there’s tonnes of burning. Wha? Ever heard of law enforcement Kerry?

    1. delacaravanio

      Bingo. It’s not as if there’s a bunch of arsonists loose, setting fire to fields. No, it’s a bunch of cynical landowners breaking the law, to get more money from the state/EU.

      No-one is above the law. Even Kerry farmers.They should be fined and prosecuted.

  3. Don Pidgeoni

    “Farmers say if they don’t clear land they lose out on single farm payments”..

    Burn them instead.

  4. Custo

    Welcome to Kerry. Where no law should ever apply to them. Sure weren’t we all reared drink driving and fire setting and it never did us any harm?

  5. Paolo

    Where should they set up the crisis room? Wherever it is, they will be communicating using data or telephony which, if I’m not mistaken, can reach all the from Kerry to Dublin.

    The fact is, they don’t have to burn the land, it is simply cheaper for them to burn it than to clear it / cut it. I clear land myself recently and didn’t resort to burning. It is also advisable to maintain land so that it doesn’t require drastic clearing.

    1. Lan

      Yea but say you have to send someone in an emergency, would it not be better to have them there immediately rather than sitting on the m50 for an hour

      1. Paolo

        The people in the crisis room call the local constabulary. A crisis room is for coordination.

        1. Lan

          Valid point, but then is local knowledge not essential in a crisis?

          Say you send some of the local enforcement round based on geological closeness but in fact due to the area it takes much longer then someone else who on the map is further away (e.g. someone close but has to use a small windy road to get there vs someone who has to travel on a main road?)

          1. Vote Rep #1

            The burning of the land isn’t just a Kerry thing, it happens all over Ireland. You see it every spring/summer in Wicklow as well.

    1. The Old Boy

      It’s just one very put-upon man in a messy office on the second floor of the GPO, lighting each cigarette off the last and taking frequent nips from his hipflask.

      1. Kieran NYC

        That guy has always sorted things ok in the movies.

        Oh – and fupp anyone who does this. Between this and poisoning the birds of prey, there are a few prize c***s out there.

  6. phil

    You do know we have re-discovered the value of burning land for rejuvenation of the soil , ancient farmers used to do this for thousands of years. In fact europeans were appaled to see native americans doing this when they arrived in the new world, it was one of the reasons so many of them were wiped out , europeans didnt understand the value of it , in fact you wouldnt have been able to walk 5 miles inland in N America without this practice.

    http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/assistance/backyard/privatelandhabitat/benefits_prescribed_burning.pdf

    Now of course, this should be done in conjunction with the fire services, thats definately a point that should be made

    1. Lan

      Thats a good point. Done right burning can stop the spread of gorse which kills everything beneath it with shade.

      Done wrong though, like outside the season, and you get massive environmental destruction

    2. Paolo

      Are you seriously suggesting that medieval farmers didn’t know about burning land to rejuvenate the soil?

      The problem is not that the soil is effected but that the wildlife is and some of the fires go out of control. Not to mention the additional CO2 released and the air quality issues for anyone down wind.

    3. parky mark

      “In fact europeans were appaled to see native americans doing this, it was one of the reasons so many of them were wiped out”
      Wow, I thought they wiped them out because they just wanted to steal their land.

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