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Wildfires in Wicklow were not started by “spontaneous combustion”, Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan has told the Dáil.
She said that investigations carried out by National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and her Department showed that the up to 418ha of land was illegally burned in April for “agricultural purposes”.
Drought conditions early in the year meant that the wildfire destroyed a vast swathe of mountain area, decimating local biodiversity.
According to the law, controlled burning of scrub land cannot be carried out between 1 March and 31 August each year.
Drones have been deployed as part of the policing effort.
“We are conducting one of the biggest eye-in-the-sky operations in an effort to clamp down on this type of activity,” Minister Madigan said.
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