Timber must be imported due to fires
Calling for prosecution of those responsible for fires, IFFPA director Marian Byron said: “Every hectare of forest destroyed will result in up to 650 cubic metres of timber that must be imported, with the resultant loss of many local forestry, harvesting and haulage jobs.
Forest owners have been reminded by Minister of State Shane McEntee at the Department of Agriculture to ensure their forestry insurance is up-to-date, firebreaks are in good condition, fire plans are in place, and to report any fire losses to the forestry division of his department.”
He said the May holiday weekend was one of the worst ever for fire damage to forests, and he asked all rural dwellers, farmers, forest owners and landowners to co-operate fully with the forest service inspectorate, emergency services, and gardaí in determining the source of fires and identifying the culprits.
Forest fires cause significant economic loss of timber crops, and take a devastating toll on woodland wildlife and biodiversity habitats for many years, according to the Irish Timber Growers Association.
Meanwhile, environmental groups repeated their claim that Ireland’s strict enforcement of terms and conditions of the Single Payments scheme, requiring scrub and hedgerows growing into fields to be marked on applications, and excluded from the Single Payment, has contributed to wildfires.
According to a statement signed by 19 environmental groups, only utilisable areas are eligible for payment, and farmers have been warned that areal photography and satellite images will be used to check utilisable areas.
They told Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith last year that the economic incentive for farmers to use burning as a land management tool must be ended, while still protecting farmer’s incomes, by promoting management of scrub areas, and enabling their owners to qualify for forestry premium — because scrub is a transitional woodland recognised as part of the national forestry inventory.
Now the group claims that the Forest Service Review Group and Land And Forest Fires Working Group ignored their submission, recommending instead a publicity campaign to change the mindset of those who light fires. They also claim that terms and conditions for the single payment can be overridden by the EU authorities, if the result benefits the environment.
According to Nial Hatch of Birdwatch, “Birds like the stonechat and the whitethroat, as well as more common birds like linnets and blackbirds, have been decimated because of the fires. We have only got over two hard winters which have left the numbers of birds well down, but these fires have now decimated many species. “We are in the middle of the nesting season and tens of thousands of chicks and eggs have been destroyed.
He predicted a knock-on effect for many years because birds will find food scarce after millions of insects and other food supplies were destroyed in gorse fires.
