Irish Examiner view: Gorse fires environmentally destructive

Setting of gorse fires should be prosecuted. Picture: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

The season for gorse fires is upon us. Though the practice has been a feature of hill farming for thousands of years, attitudes towards it have changed. 

It is now largely illegal and frowned upon, because of its impact on wildlife and plant life.

Designed to regenerate growth and make land viable for modest farming, it is now seen as unacceptably destructive, especially as habitat diversity is increasingly threatened by ever-more intensive farming.

The Fire, Land, and Atmospheric Remote Sensing of Emissions project at University College Cork has recorded the impact January gorse fires have had in parts of Co Kerry's Dingle Peninsula. 

Despite the ban, gorse fires placed huge demands on Co Kerry fire services, with eight crews from eight of  the county's 10  fire stations fighting almost 30 fires across the county on February 10.

Maybe it's time to make a comparable effort to identify and prosecute those responsible for this selfish, environmentally reckless behaviour.