Allowed burning times

Username John

Hello,

Does anyone know, or where can I find or where it states when is the allowed time of year for burning heather / bushes, etc.

I think today is the first day when you cannot burn (as in 1st March) but not sure why I think that.

I had a look on Cork county council websire there, and couldn't find it.

Any ideas?

You can still burn cant you - as in heather/ furze / briars / ferns, etc.

wiggy123

think you can never burn, maybe unless you get permission off council...
today not the end date for hedge cutting...

CJhaughey

Latest News

17/02/2010 - Birds and Wildlife Nesting and Breeding Season: Restrictions on the destruction of hedgerows and the destruction of vegetation on uncultivated land from 1 March to 31 August 2010

Section 40 of the Wildlife Act 1976, as amended by Section 46 of the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000, restricts the cutting, grubbing, burning or destruction by other means of vegetation growing on uncultivated land or in hedges or ditches during the nesting and breeding season for birds and wildlife, from 1 March to 31 August.
In Ireland hedges are of exceptional importance as habitats, particularly for birds but also for wild flowers, shrubs and trees and provide food and shelter for birds and other wildlife and enhance the diversity of nature in our countryside.
These restrictions apply not only to private land-users but also to local authorities, public bodies and to contractors. Although there are some exemptions to the above restrictions, for works carried out during the normal course of agriculture and forestry or where they are executed for public health and safety reasons by a statutory body, it is nevertheless this Department’s policy to prosecute where there appears to have been a breach of the law.
The assistance of the public is sought in bringing to attention any alleged unlawful cutting, grubbing, burning or destruction, by reporting details to the Gardaí or to the local Conservation Rangers of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of this Department. Reported instances will, as far as practicable, be investigated.
Your local NPWS Office will be found under this Department’s entry in the State Directory (green) pages of the telephone directory.
The provisions of the Wildlife Acts in relation to Section 40 including the relevant exemptions may be accessed through the NPWS website at http://www.npws.ie/en/WildlifePlanningtheLaw/Legislation/ .

John_F

The irish statute website gives this link on the latest S.I. on prohibition of waste disposal about burning, happy reading

it says "Permissible disposal of waste by burning
5. (1) Without prejudice to any other enactment or rule of law, Regulation 4 shall not apply when the following conditions are fulfilled—
(a) the burning of waste relates solely to material consisting of uncontaminated (free of dangerous substances, preservatives or other artificial impregnation or coating) wood, trees, tree trimmings, leaves, brush, or other similar waste generated by agricultural practices, but excluding garden and park wastes and cemetery wastes and wastes arising from infrastructural development works, provided that such burning is done as a final measure following the application of the following waste hierarchy—
(i) waste arisings are reduced in accordance with best agricultural practice,
(ii) waste is reused where practicable,
(iii) is recycled through shredding and use as compost or wood chippings, where practicable, and
(iv) is salvaged for use as fuel where practicable,
(b) where none of the options in sub-paragraph (a) are practicable or economically viable such waste may be disposed of by burning subject to the following conditions—
(i) the person carrying out the disposal shall take all reasonable measures to limit the overall nuisance or possibilities for endangering human health or causing environmental pollution or damage to adjoining hedgerows or habitats,
(ii) no accelerants may be used when undertaking the disposal activity,"

and also

"Certificate of Registration
6. (1) The burning of waste in compliance with Regulation 5(1)(a) shall cease on 1 January 2014 unless an application is made for a Certificate of Registration under the Facility Permit Regulations in relation to the activity in question before that date."

CJhaughey

John_F wrote: »

The irish statute website gives this link on the latest S.I. on prohibition of waste disposal about burning, happy reading

Burning heather or gorse is not the same as disposal of arborial waste.
They are classed differently as the gorse and heather can harbour wildlife, tree cuttings however are very unlikely to still have birds nesting in them:D

John_F

is a cutting off gorse not classed as 'tree trimmings, leaves, brush or other similar waste generated by agricultural practices'

bureaucracy :rolleyes:

CJhaughey

John_F wrote: »

is a cutting off gorse not classed as 'tree trimmings, leaves, brush or other similar waste generated by agricultural practices'

bureaucracy :rolleyes:

Not when the plant material is still attached to the ground and living.
Keep going, you are making farmers out to be great custodians of the natural environment...:eek:
You see the reason these practices are discouraged is not for bureauracracy to flourish but wildlife depends on the cover afforded by gorse,bracken etc.

John_F

id be referring to the way the two acts (Section 40 of the Wildlife Act 1976 andWASTE MANAGEMENT (PROHIBITION OF WASTE DISPOSAL BY BURNING) REGULATIONS 2009) {{came on caps from copy and paste}} almost contradict each other, i.e. you can cut off branches and burn them but cant if they are attached to the soil??

the wildlife act 1976 says "for works carried out during the normal course of agriculture and forestry" but what is normal?

and the burning act says "the burning of waste relates solely to material consisting of uncontaminated ... wood, trees, tree trimmings, leaves, brush, or other similar waste generated by agricultural practices, but excluding garden and park wastes and cemetery wastes and wastes arising from infrastructural development works, provided that such burning is done as a final measure following the application of the following waste hierarchy—
(i) waste arisings are reduced in accordance with best agricultural practice,"

i am all for protecting habitats but when the trees take over a whole field its a different story, we are not great at maintaining hedgerows in ireland compared to our english neighbours and prehaps this is the reason - my opinion and not a group of farmers opinions

pakalasa

I have briars pilled up ready to burn !

They are cut a while and I was waiting for them to dry out before burning.
They are in the middle of a field and I will supervise them.

What is the procedure?
Do I have to contact the local Fire Brigade and let them know where I am burning?

vcsggl

John_F wrote: »

The irish statute website gives this link on the latest S.I. on prohibition of waste disposal about burning, happy reading


(ii) no accelerants may be used when undertaking the disposal activity,"[/I]

Better go easy on the diesel when getting the bonfire to light then!


George

pakalasa

Got this;
"Burning is prohibited between 1st March and 31st August each year. Landowners have a special responsibility to preserve the countryside, its landscape and its wildlife. They should take reasonable precautions to ensure that uncontrolled fires do not occur on their property."

from Clare County Council website;
http://www.clarecoco.ie/water-waste-environment/enforcement/burning/

So I just leave them there in the middle of the field..:mad:.

You know, farmers have been burning cuttings like this for hundreds of years. and now the Greens, those wise people from LaLa Land.....

I have a pyromaniac living near me (seriously) and I know he will set fire to them, when he gets the chance. Be burns everything, cost me a couple of hundred quid when he burned a roadside ditch a few years back. I had to fence it all again.

Tipp Man

If this crowd get their way you won't be able to do any burning, maybe you should let them know that there are regulations etc

Taken from yesterdays Indo:http://www.independent.ie/opinion/letters/farmland-burning-must-be-stopped-2191849.html



Monday May 24 2010

WILDFIRES have burned thousands of hectares of Ireland's countryside this year.
The impact on birds has been severe, as thousands of nestlings will have perished in the fires or will face slow starvation as their main foraging areas have been destroyed.
Aside from the impact on wildlife, the land is eroded by heavy rainfall on soils exposed by these fires. The burning contributes to carbon emissions and is illegal under the Air Pollution Act 1987 as it is "injurious to public health", has "a deleterious effect on flora or fauna", and may "damage property, or impair or interfere with amenities or with the environment".
Burning was a traditional management tool used to keep lands open which we now know has serious adverse environmental impacts. But a recent health check of the Single Payment Scheme made to farmers resulted in a new requirement for farmers to include only "utilisable areas" for payment. While hedgerows are protected, areas of scrub and even any part of hedgerows growing into fields must be removed or marked on the farmer's application and excluded from payments.
Aside from burning, a "clean-up" of scrub land has taken place across the country, often by farmers who previously worked in construction but have now returned to farming full time -- with access to idle machinery.
We are asking the Agriculture Minister to have the Forest Service and the Department of Agriculture Single Payment Unit provide a scheme to promote the management of these scrub areas, transferring them from Single Payment to Forestry Premiums.
Scrub is a transitional woodland that is recognised as part of the national forestry inventory, occupying as much as 15pc of some counties' forestry areas. It provides sanctuary for wildlife, a carbon store, and a potential source of renewable fuel.
While there may be many reasons for this year's wildfires, the economic incentive for using burning as land management must be ended -- while protecting farmers' incomes.
Tony Lowes
Director, Friends of the Irish Environment.

Irish Independent

vcsggl

The best friends that the Irish Environment has ever had has been its farmers. I'm not saying that there have never been some bad or careless farmers who have done damage to the countryside but in general the vast majority of farmers have always managed the land in a very responsible and caring fashion. It was always in their own interests to do so and in addition the majority also appreciated the pleasures of having a well maintained countryside all around the. The modern "environmentalists" and "Greens" so often don't seem to have any real understanding of what makes the countryside work - they see odd little bits of countryside, countryparks, river-side walks etc etc and seem to forget that most of the countryside is made up of working farms and forests. Farmers and others who really understand the countryside need to make their voices heard! Governmets seem all to willing to listen to the city dwelling Greens rather than to the people that live and work the countryside.

George

corkboy24

are you allowed to burn palm trees.

i know its illegal to burn domestic waste but what about trees

Injuryprone

corkboy24 wrote: »

are you allowed to burn palm trees.

i know its illegal to burn domestic waste but what about trees

As far as I know you can, once you've done the following:

You'll have to fill out a form for the council saying all other methods of disposing of them are impractical.

You'll also have to inform the fire service, so that they won't come out if someone rings in about it.

cj maxx

Injuryprone wrote: »

As far as I know you can, once you've done the following:

You'll have to fill out a form for the council saying all other methods of disposing of them are impractical.

You'll also have to inform the fire service, so that they won't come out if someone rings in about it.

---

thought id ask has anyone actually filled out one of these forms for the council about burning after march 1.? do they try to dissuade you or are they ok about it

Western Pomise

A guide from the Dept came in the post yday....presume its going to all farmers nationwide.You will have a lot of paperwork to do before you light anything!
Burning plan including Land maps with location of gorse/bushes /briars/rushes etc have to be done out and sent to co. council...and possibly to fire services BEFORE you start to burn.Then on day you go to burn you have to contact fire services and give them blow by blow account of how your burning is going.
My reading of it would be they are going to create so much redtape to put people off doing silly things like trying to keep their land tidy or improve grass quality etc by cutting briars/rushes etc....but thats just my opinion.

vicwatson

Western Pomise wrote: »

A guide from the Dept came in the post yday....presume its going to all farmers nationwide.You will have a lot of paperwork to do before you light anything!
Burning plan including Land maps with location of gorse/bushes /briars/rushes etc have to be done out and sent to co. council...and possibly to fire services BEFORE you start to burn.Then on day you go to burn you have to contact fire services and give them blow by blow account of how your burning is going.
My reading of it would be they are going to create so much redtape to put people off doing silly things like trying to keep their land tidy or improve grass quality etc by cutting briars/rushes etc....but thats just my opinion.

Is it possible to post this guide online here or a link to it?

Cheers

hugo29

cjmc wrote: »

---

thought id ask has anyone actually filled out one of these forms for the council about burning after march 1.? do they try to dissuade you or are they ok about it

burned cut hedges before, get form off council, fill in, once you receive permission, let the fire service know you have commenced and let them know when you are finished, simple really

they were fine no hassle at all

dungfly

hugo29 wrote: »

burned cut hedges before, get form off council, fill in, once you receive permission, let the fire service know you have commenced and let them know when you are finished, simple really

they were fine no hassle at all

Did you have to avoid burning on certain dates?