merrion street

Shane McEntee TD Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine meeting crews involved in the fight against land fires during his visit to the Coillte offices in Mullingar

Following on from his meeting with emergency teams in the midlands, Minister of State Shane McEntee visited Donegal last weekend, calling to families, communities and localities across the county that have been devastated by the recent spate of land and forest fires.

Representatives of Coillte, the Forestry Service, Gardai, Army, Air Corps and county council briefed the Minister of State on the latest situation in county Donegal, where the fires are now under control but some are still smouldering and are being kept under observation. Mr McEntee said:

It’s important that we review what has happened to see what lessons are to be learned for the future. In particular, it may be necessary to develop a template for householders living in remote areas to brief them on how they can help us respond to fire threats and what measures they can take themselves to minimise any potential threat to their own dwellings