Fears for West Cork homes over illegal gorse fires

Residents in West Cork are being asked to clear scrub vegetation from around family homes amid fears of a spate of illegally-set wildfires in the weeks ahead.

The legal timeframe for managing gorse in upland areas ends this week but a senior fire officer said he was concerned very few farmer-managed fires had occurred during the permitted period, September and March 1.

Under wildlife protection laws, burning scrubland is illegal from later this week until August 31. But extreme and irresponsible gorse bush burning is threatening homes, and lives.