Farming « Thurles Information

Straw Bales Maliciously Set On Fire On South Tipperary Farmland.

South Co. Tipperary farmer, Mr Seán O’Reilly, suffered the loss of some 40 straw bales, following a fire maliciously set alight, sometime around midnight on Wednesday night, August 9th, last.

The fire, which was first spotted by his wife, latter having spotted the flames from their nearby home; was restricted to a field which had just been harvested on Sunday last, on land in the townland of Ballinree, Cashel, Co. Tipperary, situated off the Cashel to Mitchelstown Motorway.

Flames from the fire could be spotted from a distance, before Gardai and Emergency Services, who quickly attended at the scene, got the blaze under control.

Investigating Gardai are now anxious to hear from anyone who may be in a position to assist them in their ongoing enquiries. Witnesses and those with any information are asked to contact either Cashel, Tel: (062-75840) or Cahir Tel: (052-744 5630) Garda Stations.

A Discussion On Making Hay In Ireland In 1806.

In his book entitled “A Tour In Ireland”, [In 1806], the author, Sir Richard Colt Hoare, describes the difference in the method used to harvest hay in Ireland.

He writes: “The Irish method of making hay, though most obstinately defended and approved by the generality of the natives, appears to the English farmer both singular and contrary to reason.

**Hay Cocks**.
Picture: *Jonathan Wilkins* (https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1439469)

Hay-harvest extends from the beginning of July, to the beginning of October, including the early crops near towns and the more backward in the mountainous regions.
Saving hay is thus performed: after the mowers, the grass you’re shaken out, in the day following, if weather permits, it is turned in rows with rakes and forks; after which it is made into small cocks, called lap-cocks.

This operation is thus conducted: One person goes before, with a rake and takes in as much ground as can be reached: a small arm-full of the grass gathered from this space into a ridge, is taken by another person, who closely follows, shakes it, and with the hands and knees, neatly folds it into small round heaps, with a whole passing through it like a muff, and lightly lays it on the ground.

In this situation the grass is suffered to remain until sufficiently withered; in the course of one day, by shaking and turning, it is in a proper state to be put into trump-cocks, which are made of different sizes, and so it is suffered to remain until it is taken in.

Such is the mode almost universally adopted by the Irish in making their hay; and as an objection to their adopting the English method, they state the extraordinary succulents of their grass, and humidity of their climate, which renders it necessarily to expose the hay in cocks for a considerable time to the sun and wind; and this I have seen carried to a great extent in many places, where the tramp-cocks have remained for several weeks exposed to all kinds of weather and as the corn follows the hay harvest as a very short interval, the latter is frequently not put into rick’s before the other is safely housed.

The loss of good hay by great surface of outside in the tramp-cocks, and which are often soaked with rain from top to bottom, must be evident to every one, and I am clear, that if the grass, when cut, was turned as often as it is in England, during the heat of the day, there would be no danger in ricking it; but the operation of turning is slightly attended to; and that process only constitutes the difference between good and bad hay.”

Inland Fisheries Ireland Prosecute Tipperary Land Owner.

A land owner resident in South Co. Tipperary, named as Mr Milo Cuddihy, has been convicted of carrying out in-stream works on some 300 metres of the Lingaun River at Breanormore, Glenacunna, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary.
The work undertaken, we understand, affected the habitats of resident fish, including populations of salmon, trout, lamprey and eel.

**Realignment of Lingaun River bed and bank.**
*Pic: Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI)*

Ms Lynda Connor, South-Eastern River Basin District Director at Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) noted that this was an act of ecological destruction, and further declaring this action, by the defendant, as demonstrating a real disregard for the river, their fish species and the local habitat.

Ms Connor said “Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) would continue to prosecute such illegal activity in fulfilment of its remit to protect and conserve Ireland’s important inland fisheries resource. The decimation and removal of a river’s habitat can be devastating in terms of its effects on fish. It can also impact in-stream biodiversity, such as vegetation and insects.”

Mr Cuddihy had carried out the in-stream works on the interior of the river bed and its banks, at the Lingaun River, Co. Tipperary, destroying 300 metres of the river channel.
IFI had learned of the issue first on January 28th 2023, and the case was heard at Carrick-on-Suir District Court on July 5th 2023 last, with Mr Cuddihy fined a total of €4,000, and directed to pay a further €750 in costs directly to IFI.

Ms Connor concluded by stating, quote; “Landowners need to seek all necessary and relevant information from their advisors, and from Inland Fisheries Ireland, before carrying out any works near, or on, a watercourse adjacent to their land. The appropriate window for any in-stream works is strictly between July and September, but only with the guidance and permission of IFI. During the closed season, from October to June, no works should take place in a river.
IFI continues to encourage members of the public to report incidents such as this, and those of water pollution, fish kills, and illegal fishing to its 24/7 phone number, TEL: 0818 34 74 24.”

Ireland’s 2022 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Show Welcome Decrease.

Ireland’s 2022 Greenhouse Gas Emissions show a welcome decrease, but much work remains to be done

Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 1.9% (1.19 Mt CO2eq) in 2022, driven by higher fuel prices, increased renewable energy, behavioural change and regulation.
Power generation emissions decreased by 1.9% due to a reduction in coal, oil and peat use and more renewable energy.
Agriculture emissions decreased by 1.2% driven by reduced fertiliser use which offset the impact of an increase in livestock numbers.
Residential emissions decreased by 12.7% with the impact of higher fuel prices, new regulations that ban the use of smoky fuel and milder weather evident.
Transport emissions increased by 6% in 2022 as the COVID rebound continues.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has today published its provisional greenhouse gas emissions for Ireland for 2022. The figures show a reduction of 1.9% compared to 2021, with emission reductions in all key sectors, except Transport.

In total, 60.76 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2eq) were emitted excluding emissions from Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF).

The report highlights that 47% of Ireland’s Carbon Budget for 2021-2025 has been used in the first 2 years. An extremely challenging annual reduction of 12.4% is required for each of the remaining years if Ireland is to stay within the Budget.

The figures also show that Ireland exceeded its 2022 annual limit under the European Union’s Effort Sharing Regulation (EU 2018/842). These annual limits have been reduced further from 2023 onwards as Ireland’s Effort Sharing commitment increased from a 30% reduction on the 2005 level by 2030 to a 42% reduction.

Commenting on the figures Ms Laura Burke, Director General, EPA said: “An overall emissions reduction is welcome, and it is encouraging to see the impact of action across key economic sectors. Drivers for this reduction were higher fossil fuel prices and associated behavioural change, more renewable energy, and the impact of regulation such as the nationwide ban on smoky fuels in home heating.

She added “While welcome, this decrease in emissions needs to be significantly ramped up. We need faster progress on the actions set out in national climate action plans to decarbonise and transform all sectors of Ireland’s economy, to stay within National Carbon Budgets and reduce our Greenhouse Gas emissions by 51 per cent by 2030.”

A summary of the trends from key sectors:

Energy Industries: Emissions decreased by 1.8% despite a 2.1% increase in overall electricity demand. The reductions were driven by reductions in coal, oil and peat used in electricity generation (-16.1, -29.1 and -24.8% respectively). These reductions, however, were largely offset by the highest gas usage since 2010 (up 12.6% compared to 2021). The emissions intensity of electricity generation declined to 331g CO2/kWh in 2022 (from 348g CO2/kWh in 2021) due to increased renewable energy, but remained above 2020 levels.

Agriculture: Emissions overall decreased by 1.2% or 0.29 Mt CO2eq in 2022. A welcome decrease of 14% in nitrogen fertiliser use, to 343,000 tonnes, made significant progress towards the 330,000 tonne target for 2025 in the Climate Action Plan and resulted in 0.44 Mt CO2eq less emissions from agriculture. These reductions offset the impact of higher dairy cow numbers which increased for the 12th successive year. Total milk production increased by 0.7% in 2022, with milk output per cow decreasing slightly (-0.2 per cent).

Residential: Emissions decreased significantly by 12.7 per cent to 6.1 Mt CO2 eq. The main drivers for the decrease included a large rise in fossil fuel prices, warmer weather and new nationwide solid fuel regulations that ban the use of smoky fuel in home heating.

Transport: Emissions increased by 6% (to 11.63 Mt CO2 eq), following a similar increase in 2021. Overall higher transport activity – both private cars and freight transport – is eroding the impact of electric vehicles. In 2022, there were 72,000 battery electric (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric (PHEVs) which is approximately 37% of the Climate Action Plan target for 2025. Emissions in this sector in 2022 were 4.6% below the pre-pandemic level seen in 2019.

Land-Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULULCF): This sector accounted for 10.7% of the total emissions in 2022 (including LULUCF) and decreased by 0.5%. The main source of emissions is from grasslands on organic soils that have been drained for agricultural production. Net grassland emissions were 6.8 Mt CO2 eq in 2022 while Forest land became a net source in 2022 (0.4 Mt CO2 eq) as more trees reached harvesting age.

Commenting, Ms Mary Frances Rochford, Programme Manager, EPA said: “Current decarbonisation actions are being outpaced by increased energy demand across the economy and dependence on fossil fuels for energy generation. A significant increase in Transport emissions in 2022 highlights the fact that a growing economy, with high employment, will continue to produce emissions if we do not break the link and decouple emissions from increased activity by using cleaner and alternatives sources of energy.”

The Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventory 1990 to 2022 is available on the EPA website and the EPA Greenhouse Gas web resource is also available online HERE.

Further information: Emily Williamson, EPA Media Relations Office Tel: 053-9170770 (24 hours) or media@epa.ie

One Year Prison Sentence For Tipperary Farmer, Following Employee Fatality.

A Tipperary farmer has been given a 12-month prison sentence following a workplace fatality, which happened on his farm at Coleman, Fethard, Co. Tipperary, back on June 26th, 2016.

On that date, a Telehandler; [same machine widely used both in agriculture and industry], then being used to carry out work on the farm, went out of control before overturning, resulting in one farm employee losing his life and another employee suffering serious injuries.

The owner of the farm had pleaded guilty to charges of being in breach of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 and the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007.

At Clonmel Circuit Court, South Tipperary on Thursday last, July 6th, the farmer was sentenced to 12 months in prison, for failing to manage and conduct work activities in such a way as to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, the safety health and welfare of his employees at work.

The Health & Safety Authority confirmed that the Telehandler was found to be in a dangerous condition, unsafe and unfit for use, with brakes, accelerator cable, transmission selector, cab door and seat belt not properly maintained.

They add that it is essential that all employers make sure that operator training is provided to all workers and that risk assessments are carried out in advance of the work activities commencing.