Irish fire laws '30 years behind,' says ecologist

Ireland's legal framework for starting fires is severely outdated, lagging about 30 years behind current needs, according to ecologist and author Pádraic Fogarty. He stated that the legislative measures, associated fines, and the risk of prosecution have not evolved, rendering them ineffective as deterrents.

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Ireland’s laws around starting fires are stuck where they were "30 years ago".

"The deterrent isn't there. In the very unlikely event that anybody gets caught and prosecuted for something like this, the fines might range to the hundreds of euro, which really is not a deterrent," Fogarty said on RTÉ's Morning Ireland. He highlighted that while setting fire to land is illegal during the bird nesting season (March 1 to August 31), there is ambiguity and mixed messages, particularly from the farming community, about the acceptability of fire at other times.

Fogarty asserted that burning land should be unacceptable, full stop. He pointed to unusual fires occurring even in February in recent years due to dry spells, demonstrating the damage caused by even "controlled" fires, which he believes do not truly exist. He stressed the vulnerability of Ireland's peatland habitats, calling them "climate champions" despite their degraded state, which makes them dry out quickly and become fire-prone.

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The deterrent isn't there. In the very unlikely event that anybody gets caught and prosecuted for something like this, the fines might range to the hundreds of euro, which really is not a deterrent.

To combat this issue, Fogarty advocated for updating the legislative framework and retaining water on hillsides. He called for the restoration of native forests, noting their non-flammable nature, unlike the monoculture forestry model prevalent in Ireland, which he described as exacerbating the fire problem. He drew parallels with France and Spain, where similar "vast monocultures" fuel flames, and urged a transition to different commercial forestry approaches.

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Now, fire should be unacceptable on land. We should not be burning land, full stop.

With increasingly prolonged dry spells due to climate change, Fogarty warned that Ireland will face more frequent and severe fires unless land use practices are addressed. He noted that the country has been dealing with fires of this magnitude for the past 15 to 20 years, and the impact on ecosystems, including bees, is significant.

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We need to get our forests back into our hills. Ireland’s native forests are "not flammable".