'People have had enough': Anger sparked by West Cork gorse fires 'still simmering'
The aftermath of the fire that engulfed Mount Gabriel in West Cork last week. Picture: Andrew Harris
The terrifying blaze that engulfed parts of West Cork's landscape last week failed to deter others from setting the landscape alight, with reports of more fires up to midweek, causing huge anger in the region.
Some outdoor workers, such as those in construction, were told it was too unsafe to go onsite in the aftermath of the fires, losing out on a day's pay on Monday after firefighters spent all night putting out blazes that threatened to veer out of control.
West Cork resident Rory Jackson, who started the Stop Gorse Fires page on Facebook 13 years ago, said the sense of anger was palpable in the aftermath and has not subsided.
Mr Jackson, who is set to run as a Green in next year's local elections, said that although there was no surprise locally at the burning in the run-up to the March 1 deadline, the scale of the destruction caught people off guard.
Section 40 of the Wildlife Acts 1976 prohibits the cutting, grubbing, burning, or destruction of vegetation, with certain strict exemptions, from March 1 to August 31.
Almost every year, burning intensifies in the run-up to the March deadline as landowners squeeze the timeline to control excess vegetation — spiking incidents such as those seen in West Cork, Kerry, and throughout the country, at the weekend.
Mr Jackson said: "The weekend wasn't the last of it. People emerged to sooty cars and the smell of smoke until Wednesday, March 1, so the Mount Gabriel incident didn't even put an end to it.
"The Stop Gorse Fires page on Facebook gained lots of new followers in the aftermath. It's amazing to think after tracking them online for 13 years that we are still talking about the same issue every year.
"Whether this time is a landmark moment remains to be seen, but I haven't seen such depth of feeling on it before. People want their political leaders to have the courage to act on it and stop this madness."
He said most farmers wanted to work in an environmentally-friendly way, adding it was a "very small minority" of landowners acting irresponsibly.
Bringing farmers onboard to repurpose land would be a win-win for all, he said, eliminating needless environmentally poisonous burning and contributing to the so-called "just transition", where communities relying on traditional and legacy industries are assisted in the transfer over to less carbon-intensive methods.
The Department of Housing said earlier this week that the National Parks and Wildlife Service, which falls under its remit, "is working to review, consolidate and modernise the Wildlife Act and the Birds and Habitats Regulations".
A spokesperson said: "These are a multi-year projects, which will include public consultation, and both are at planning phase. The updates will be wide-ranging but will have a particular focus on deterrence and on improving the enforceability of wildlife laws."
