Northern Ireland

Bonfires 'infringe several areas of law', says academic study

A bonfire yesterday at Hope Street near Sandy Row in central Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell
A bonfire yesterday at Hope Street near Sandy Row in central Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell A bonfire yesterday at Hope Street near Sandy Row in central Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell

TYRES have been a focus of bonfire concerns this summer, but an academic study has highlighted a series of legal problems that are often left unenforced.

Seven areas were identified in which bonfires may infringe on or breach laws, by-laws or statutory regulations. They are:

:: Disposal of waste, including dumping and fly-tipping.

:: Insurance liability for injury or damage to people or property, including publicly-owned sites and private housing.

:: Illegal occupation of public property.

:: Fire regulations, including height, distance and intensity regulations.

:: Environmental health and air quality regulations.

:: Interference with traffic or other blockages to public highways.

:: Audit and financial rules.

The list of legal issues was included in an 82-page confidential 'Bonfire Scoping Exercise' report by Ulster University academics, dated November 2017 and leaked to The Irish News last year.

It described how the numerous existing laws "could be used to enforce and regulate behaviours and activities synonymous with the construction and lighting of bonfires".

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However it said full enforcement of legislation is "rare", suggesting that authorities are reluctant due to fears over staff safety and the "real risk of widespread public disorder and the associated financial costs".

The report was commissioned by the Community Relations Council following discussions with the TBUC (Together: Building A United Community) engagement forum – a body set up under the Stormont executive's TBUC strategy.

In the study, staff for public bodies spoke candidly about loyalist paramilitaries exerting control over some bonfires.

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It noted concerns that bonfire management programmes can place staff in a position where they are "turning a blind eye to alleged paramilitary influence".

The report recommended a "regional perspective and analysis" to "deliver consistency across Northern Ireland".