Minister Has to Allow Managed Burning in March

IFA National Hill Farming Chairman Flor McCarthy said the Minister for Arts, Heritage and Culture Josepha Madigan has to allow the managed burning of gorse in March.

“The Minister has to take account of how farmers manage their hill land responsibly and where land is burned, it is done in a managed way,” he said.

While the focus has been on farmland that has been flooded, there is another consequence of the heavy rainfall in the last month. Hill farmers who had planned to manage their holdings have not been able to do so.

The weather conditions for burning are not the same throughout the country and putting a blanket ban to burning in March would be a retrograde step.

Allowing it to go ahead would demonstrate an understanding of the practical issues farmers face in managing their hill farms.