Galway Bay fm newsroom - The county council has put a new declaration system in place to regulate the burning of waste on agricultural land.
A meeting of the Oranmore-Athenry Municipal District heard today that a review was carried out by the local authority following a request by Councillor Martina Kinane.
Landowners and farmers are now required to fill out a detailed declaration form before any fire is started, outlining the reason for the fire and the date and time of burning.
The fire service must also be informed in advance.
The new declaration form also requires landowners to confirm that they've explored all other options first.
The new system follows recent notifications from fire services which have warned against the illegal setting of vegetation fires, which they say is putting pressure on fire crews and endangering public safety.
Last night, two units of the fire brigade from An Cheathrú Rua and Clifden tackled a gorse blaze near Maam Cross for more than an hour.
The declaration form is available from County Hall at Prospect Hill and from the county council's website, galway.ie
