COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF TALLAGHT AREA COMMITTEE 1

Monday, October 15, 2007

QUESTION NO. 7

QUESTION: Councillor M. Corr

"To ask the Manager if the Council has at its disposal machinery for vacuuming broken glass particles from footpaths particularly those located through parks in the Tallaght area, if this machinery is not already used by the Council, to ask the Manager to go about purchasing this equipment as a matter of urgency as there have been a significant number of injuries to children throughout the summer along pathways that have not been cleared adequately by routine cleansing?"

REPLY:

The County Council is aware that large amounts of broken glass can be found on many footpaths within our parks in the Tallaght area and this results in a potential safety hazard for pedestrians. To combat this problem a hired vacuum-type Road Sweeper is engaged on a routine monthly basis to clean footpaths. This is supplemented by a tractor-type sweeper provided directly by the Parks Department which is also used to clean the same footpaths on a daily basis. In addition a hand held van-mounted vacuum machine has recently been purchased and this is used to remove bottles and other litter located along walls and within shrubberies etc.

Despite these operations, the level of anti-social activity is such that it is impossible to keep footpaths and grass areas in some parks free of broken glass at all times. In some instances bottles are broken on footpaths immediately after the machines have just cleaned up the glass. The Parks Department does not currently have the resources to purchase a larger more suitable vacuum type machine for general grassland and parks use and it is proposed therefore to continue the current operations within the existing resources.