Northern Irish farmers may risk facing penalties to their support payments if they do not notify the government of any land affected by wildfire.
The announcement by Department of Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) follows news of recent gorse fires in Northern Ireland.
Fire fighters have been battling a massive gorse fire on Glenshane Pass, County Londonerry. The NI Fire and Rescue Service, who attended the one mile-long stretch of fire, said it was caused by some sort of human error.
DAERA is now highlighting the potential impact of gorse fires on applications for payment under area-based schemes.
The department says that while this can be a challenging situation for farmers and land owners, they need to ensure that they take the right actions now to safeguard their payments under area based schemes.
EU rules only allow payment on land that is eligible, and any farmers affected by a gorse fire have been urged to notify DAERA within 15 working days of the fire, or when the farm business is in a position to do so, for consideration for ‘force majeure’.
No, it's not volcano. This is the gorse fire that firefighters have been battling near the Glenshane Pass in County Derry. Footage from Kevin McCloskey. pic.twitter.com/K5ksnZaDc9
— Barra Best (@barrabest) June 28, 2018
Farmers will have to demonstrate that land has become ineligible as a result of a gorse fire and that the circumstances of the fire were unforeseen.
To do this, farmers are advised to immediately contact Area-Based Schemes Payment Branch on 0300 200 7848.
In a statement, DAERA said: "We will look at each request individually so that we can confirm that despite taking all reasonable measures to counteract their effects, the force majeure or exceptional circumstances prevented you from meeting your obligations.
"You will be asked for information, supported by evidence where appropriate, of the steps you have taken to prevent or lessen the effect of these circumstances.
Big fire off the Glenshane Pass. Farmers back clearing the heathers from the Sperrins. Some of the same complain about a planned controlled development pic.twitter.com/iNHKdhwhvR
— Derry Diaspora (@DerryDiaspora) June 27, 2018
"Each case is considered on an individual basis and it is important that farmers details all the facts, including where and when the fire started and when the incident was reported to the police or the Fire and Rescue Service.
"Telling us now will allow us to help ensure that farmers do not lose money unnecessarily."
It follows news of NFU Mutual warning that tinder dry conditions are putting the farms at high risk of devastating fires and risk causing a "countryside inferno".
