Debate contribution: Fires in the Mourne Mountains
Debate contribution by Mr Andrew Muir on .
- MLA
- Mr Andrew Muir
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 7 April 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Question for Urgent Oral Answer
- Heading
- Fires in the Mourne Mountains
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4890845
Read the official Assembly record
Text
First, I offer my sympathy to all those who have been affected by the terrible fires over the past few days and pay tribute and express thanks to the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) for all the work that it is doing to keep people safe. Tackling and preventing wildfires requires close working by the relevant agencies, as well as public awareness and vigilance. Two weeks ago, my Department issued a press release, in conjunction with the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service and the police, highlighting the risk of wildfires over the coming months and providing advice on how to help to prevent them. Prior to the wildfires over the past weekend, my officials issued an updated natural hazards partnership amber wildfire warning to key stakeholders in order to enable increased vigilance over the weekend. However, some of the recent fires, which were started after dark and are very difficult to catch, are, unfortunately, still happening. The dry, warm and often breezy weather is leading to conditions for wildfires, and they are severe. As part of my Department's preparation for the current wildfire season, it deployed specialist wildfire ATVs with the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service. The vehicles are located across Northern Ireland in areas that the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service deems to be at the greatest risk of wildfires. The Northern Ireland Environment Agency's (NIEA) wildfire officer was also in attendance over the weekend, and I want to thank him and so many other officials in my Department. He remains on call to assist the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service should it be required. The Northern Ireland Environment Agency's specialist wildfire all-terrain vehicles also remain available for use by the emergency services, and all three of those were deployed by the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service over the weekend at Rostrevor, and one was used at Ben Crom.
My Department continues to support wildfire prevention work, particularly the continued implementation of the eastern Mournes wildfire project and the management of strategic wildfire control points in conjunction with the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service and the Mourne Heritage Trust. In essence, those points include a number that are mostly within the Mourne walls and at which vegetation is kept purposefully short to slow the rate of spread of wildfires in order to allow the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service extra time to deploy appropriate personnel. Further work was planned to review and develop a wider wildfire plan for the Mournes, but unfortunately no applications were received for an associated tender that was issued in January. Officials are reviewing why no applications were received, with the intention of revising the tender and issuing a new tender for the work to commence as soon as possible. I have asked officials to expedite the strategic way forward for wildfires in Northern Ireland so that I can urgently bring it to the Executive.
489 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.02 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.77).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.01 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.77 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 1.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:18 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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