COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF TALLAGHT AREA COMMITTEE (2)
Monday, November 23, 2009
MOTION NO.3
MOTION: Councillor D. Looney
That this Committee thanks the staff of SDCC for their efforts over the Hallowe'en period in containing bonfires and providing extra services, and that the Manager provides a detailed report on the cleanup of Hallowe'en bonfires and other activities this year, with the inclusion of all significant locations of bonfire debris within the remit of the Tallaght Area Committee, an estimate of the costs involved, and a comparison of this work with previous years.
REPORT:
In the run up to the 2009 Halloween period a concerted effort was made by a number of Departments requesting local communities, community and youth groups, schools and the general public to attend the official bonfires in the Tallaght and Clondalkin areas rather than construct their own, the request, in the main, was ignored in many areas c 6000sqm of open space now damaged as a result.
In addition to the above the Council crews removed considerable volumes of material in the weeks leading up to Halloween in an effort to reduce available material and limit the damage to the public spaces.
The debris from the official bonfire sites at Fettercairn West Tallaght and Neilstown, North Clondalkin, was removed immediately.
In the aftermath of Halloween each unofficial bonfire has been logged, photographed and an estimate of the debris remaining calculated to facilitate a programmed removal of the material.
There are now 412 bonfire sites across the County which must be attended to and the offending debris removed. A schedule of post-halloween clean-ups countywide is now being prioritised. The clean-up programme will be managed on a co-ordinated basis across various Departments of the Council. Details of the schedule will be posted to the Council’s website and a link will be provide to the Members as soon as it is available. By visiting the Council's website, members of the public will be in a position to identify the site of the bonfire of interest to them on a map which will show the date of the proposed clean up for that site. It is intended to commence the cleanup operation on Monday 23rd November. However, due to the volume of rainfall in recent weeks and the now very poor ground conditions across the county, it will not be possible to commence bonfire cleanups in many locations without casuing significant further damage to the public open spaces. Efforts will be made to remove material from open spaces where access can be gained without causing further damgage. As a result, the proposed cleanup dates in the schedule will vary and will be updated on an ongoing basis to ensure that the information is current..
The cost of the clean-up is estimated to cost €400,000 to €500,000 and when public services have to be scaled back it is most unfortunate that such an unnecessary expense has been incurred in the county.