COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, July 12, 2010

QUESTION NO 4.

QUESTION: Councillor E. Coburn

To ask the Manager to report on the number of council staff engaged in grass-cutting over the summer months this year compared with each of 2008 & 2009, the number of external contractors engaged in grass-cutting over the summer months this year compared with each of 2008 & 2009 and the costs incurred in each year to retain these services?

REPLY:

There are 4,500 acres (1,650 hectares) of open space and parkland in the charge of the Council.  These areas, in the main, comprise approx. 500 acres of pitches, 700 acres of roadside verges and margins (excluding verges fronting residential and commercial properties) with the balance (3,300 acres) comprising regional, neighbourhood and local parks and residential open spaces.

During the grass cutting season the Parks Department has a complement of approximately 75 grass-cutting machines ranging in size from the largest 16-ft. roller mowers to the smaller ride-on mowers, all of which are fully deployed throughout the season.

80% of the staff of the Parks Department (excluding park rangers and craft worker staff) are deployed fulltime during the season on the cutting of grass and advance litter picking where possible.

The number of staff deployed to cutting grass for each of the years in question is therefore approximately 75. As far as possible, every effort is made to keep the grass cutting machinery fully operational allowing for the fact that, at any given time, individual staff may be attending training courses, on leave or out sick and that individual machines may be away for servicing/repair.

YEAR	2008	2009	2010
Council machinery	75	75	75
Contractors (Machine+grass cutter+driver)	9	0	0
Cost of contractors	€520,000	€0	€0

In 2008, nine contract grass cutting machines, including drivers, were on hire for the full season of approximately thirty weeks. These machines were distributed across the county and were deployed on roads as well as open spaces and parkland, supporting our own direct labour and machinery resources. Due primarily to the economic situation in 2009 and again in 2010, it was not possible to engage these contractors to support the grass cutting operation. The cost of hire, including VAT, of the contractors amounted to €520,000 for the 2008 season.