The National Parks and Wildlife Service says it’s aware of more than 300 gorse fires in Kerry and parts of Cork in a single day this week.
The NPWS says 200 of these blazes which occurred on Tuesday could be classified as large fires.
The service says it’s operating aerial surveillance across national parks, nature reserves and the wider countryside.
According to the National Parks and Wildlife Service, whose duties including responsibility for Killarney National Park, fires have been burning for almost three weeks across the south-west.
The gorse is burned by landowners to control vegetation; farmers argue the managed burning of gorse allows for the regeneration of mountain land and is good farming practice.
The Climate Change Advisory Council disagrees and says the use of controlled fire is not recommended best practice in most circumstances and that it's a disaster for biodiversity.
The NPWS says it's working to review and modernise wildlife regulations, with a particular focus on deterrence and enforcing the law.
One such law effectively bans the burning of gorse from March 1st to August 31st in order to protect birds and wildlife during the nesting and breeding season.
However, this law is widely flouted.
The NPWS says its staff helped secure 32 prosecutions for wildlife crime last year, that they’re currently investigating 60 cases and are working closely with gardaí and the fire service.
