Land burned outside legal season can be ineligible for Department pay outs

Land which is found to have been burned outside of the legal season can be considered ineligible for payment under Department schemes, including BPS, GLAS and other area based schemes, they warned.

In response to a recent spate of uncontrolled burning incidents in Co Cork and Co Kerry, the Department of Agriculture has warned farmers and other landowners that the burning of land is unlawful at this time of year under current legislation.

Restrictions on hedge-cutting and burning came into effect on 1 March and will last until 31 August 2016.

Satellite based detection and assessment is now underway in the recently affected areas. In addition, further inspections may be conducted on lands where fire incidents have been detected since 1 March, the Department said.

Current fire behaviour has been described as moderate, but there is a strong possibility of further and potentially higher fire risk conditions emerging again next month, as spring weather conditions improve and temperatures increase.