Firebreaks and gorse need greater upkeep on Slievenamon, council meeting told

A councillor living in the shadow of Slievenamon told Tippperary County Council and Fire Service chiefs that a lack of maintenance of fire breaks and gorse contributed to the spread of the massive wildfire that burned close to 1,500 hectares of the mountainside this summer.

Cloneen Cllr Mark Fitzgerald highlighted his concerns about maintenance of vegetation and fire breaks on parts of Slievenamon at Tipperary County Council's September meeting after Chief Fire Officer John Shinners and Acting Assistant Chief Fire Officer Carol Kennedy gave a detailed report on the emergency services response to the wildfire and its aftermath.

The fire chiefs’ report was part of what Cllr Fitzgerald and Cllr Máirín McGrath requested in a motion they tabled at the council meeting calling on all relevant State bodies and stakeholders involved in responding to the Slievenamon wildfire to provide a report on the incident to the Council and to propose recommendations and measures to reduce the risk of future wildfires and improve preparedness and response.

Cllr Fitzgerald welcomed the report but said he would also like to see Coillte and the National Parks & Wildlife Service presenting reports on their response to the wildfire to the Council.

He acknowledged while there was coordination between agencies in the emergency response to the fire, he claimed there were agencies that made things more awkward for the Fire Service.

Cllr Fitzgerald, who liaised with the emergency services and his local community during the fire, praised the Fire Service personnel, Coillte workers, local farmers and contractors involved in the firefighting operation.

He said a number of local farmers and contractors created fire breaks on the mountain with their own machinery during the fire and suggested that employing them in the future to assist with creating fire breaks on Slievenamon and other Tipperary mountains would be valuable.

He noted no organisation had all the equipment to deal with such a fire and farmers and contractors owned machinery that was useful in these situations. A contractor based near him had a 10,000 gallons tanker that could be used in tackling a future wildfire.

The Cloneen publican said lack of maintenance of gorse and fire breaks on Slievenamon stretched back up to 15 years and he believed this contributed to the spread of the wildfire.

He called on Tipperary Fire Service to play a part in checking fire breaks on Slievenamon and other mountains in the county annually.

“Slievenamon is safe for 10 years now but this could be an issue for the Comeraghs and Knockmealdowns next year,” he warned.

Cllr McGrath, who seconded the motion, highlighted the importance of learning from the experience to better respond and coordinate with agencies, people on the ground and the IFA when another severe weather emergency happened.

She said local farmers and contractors came out to assist no matter what the weather emergency was and recognition for that needs to be given.

Fethard Labour Cllr Michael 'Chicken' Brennan pointed out that during a meeting between local politicians, IFA representatives and Minister of State for Agriculture & Food Niall Collins and Coillte in Killurney earlier this month, it emerged the NWPS refused authorisation for machinery creating fire breaks during the wildfire to cross a stream on the mountainside.

Carrick Cllr Kieran Bourke also mentioned Minister Collins' visit to Killurney and spoke of how IFA members raised various concerns about a plan going forward and how they want to be part of it.

Fire & Emergency Services Director Brian Beck said he would invite Coillte and other agencies to attend a Planning & Emergency SPC meeting at which Tipperary Fire Service will be present. The IFA was represented on this SPC, and frank discussions could take place to identify learnings from the wildfire. “I think that will be a useful discussion for us to have,” he added.