Farmers will be able to burn bushes and hedge cuttings until the end of February after the Minister gave a last-minute exemption.
Tipperary TD Jackie Cahill says he received complaints from multiple farmers who were unable to get Council permission to carry out the practice recently.
The Department of the Environment is aiming to move away from burning, and to use shredders instead.
Deputy Cahill says it’s welcome news that farmers can continue to burn until the end of February, but there’s still uncertainty about what the future holds.
“It’s back as per before. Now the minister has said he’s going to look at it to see can there be another alternative going forward to do it.
“If there’s a practical alternative, yes by all means look at it but this idea that a mulcher would have to call to each farm to do this just wouldn’t work in practicality. It wouldn’t be economical and it wouldn’t be environmentally friendly either, someone going around the country just to mulch a few bushes.”
