No extension of burning season into March
The Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan, has announced that she would not make regulations to extend the season for the burning of vegetation into March.
Section 40 of the Wildlife Acts restricts the cutting, grubbing, burning or destruction of vegetation growing on uncultivated land or in hedges or ditches during the nesting and breeding season for birds and wildlife, from March 1st to August 31st.
The Heritage Act 2018 provides that the Minister may make regulations to allow the burning of vegetation in March. During the passage of the Heritage Act through the Dáil and the Seanad, it had always been made clear by the Minister Madigan (and her predecessor) that the need for such regulations would take account of weather conditions.
The Minister said that following extensive consideration in her Department of Met Éireann data, it was clear that rainfall in Ireland during the 6 months when it was permissible to burn under the law (i.e. from September 2018 to February 2019) was significantly below average. Overall, nationally rainfall for the 6 month period was some 10.49% below the 30 year mean.
This was particularly the case in the first two months of the year which have been exceptionally dry compared to average rainfall. Overall in these 2 months, rainfall across the country has been some 29.57% below the 30 year average. Temperatures during January and February this year have also been above average.