Retailers asked to halt disposable barbecue sales during wildfire warning

Retailers in Ireland are being urged to suspend sales of disposable barbecues for the duration of a national wildfire warning. The Department of Enterprise has agreed to this recommendation with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, following a request from the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management.

Government sources indicate that correspondence will be sent to retailers nationwide, advising them to cease selling disposable barbecues. While this recommendation is not legally binding, the Department of Enterprise plans to communicate with businesses through its Retail Forum. The move comes amid a Status Orange High Forest Fire Risk Warning, currently in effect until Friday, July 17, with potential for extension.

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Lighting a BBQ in an area like this where the ground is like paper, it's like dried out paper now at the moment, one spark and the people there wouldn't even be able to contain it and it would just take off.

The urgency behind this request is underscored by a recent wildfire in Killarney National Park, believed to have been ignited by a disposable barbecue. These items are increasingly seen as a significant fire hazard, especially in current dry conditions. Temperatures are expected to remain high, with forecasts predicting up to 24C on Sunday.

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I don't ever believe in a situation like this that the people were bad people, but I do believe they were possibly and potentially stupid people, because they should have known better.

Beyond the temporary suspension, the government is considering more stringent measures. Proposals for an outright ban on disposable barbecues in Ireland's national parks are set to be discussed by the Cabinet next week. The Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O'Sullivan, is drafting heads of bill for such a ban.

Independent TD for Kerry, Michael Healy-Rae, strongly condemned the use of disposable barbecues, particularly in sensitive areas like national parks where they are already banned. He described the ground in these areas as "like dried out paper" and warned that a single spark could lead to an uncontrollable fire. Healy-Rae suggested that individuals causing fires through recklessness should face prosecution, emphasizing that while most people respect the countryside, careless actions by a few can cause immense damage.

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But we must now send out a message. The rules are there, the regulations are there, and if people need to be prosecuted for doing something like this, of course they should, because the overwhelming majority of people respect our countryside but unfortunately it only takes one careless person to cause enormous damage.