COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
Monday, December 10, 2012
HEADED ITEM NO. 20
Report on Halloween Activities
2012
A number of initiatives were organised by the Council as part of a new approach towards celebrating Halloween in a fun and safe way. These included a Halloween celebration in North Clondalkin and a parade and celebration in Tallaght, Bulbs not Bonfire, free access to Civic Amenity, Ballymount, WEEE recycling opportunities throughout the County and a WEEE to work week in County Hall.
The Council’s approach has been three pronged –
- Communication –communicate a message promoting the positive and negative aspects of Halloween in the hope that this can help reduce the negative impacts
- Prevention and Reduction of bonfire material - actively preventing illegal bonfires by reducing the availability of material for such fires
- “THE HAUNTED” Celebration – providing and promoting organized events around which communities can focus their celebrations
For 2012, the approach was as follows -
1. Communications
- A postcard outlining both the positive and negative aspects of Halloween was delivered to every household in the County. This card allowed each household free access to the Civic Amenity, Ballymount on Saturday 27th October. Due to the numbers of people who turned up on the day, those who did not get access to the Civic amenity were given vouchers to return for free up to Wednesday 31st October .
- A Halloween activity pack was sent to all schools and included a reading list, activity sheets highlighting the contribution of all the agencies and how Halloween affects them. This resource was also available online.
- An interagency approach which included the Gardai, Fire Brigade and Dublin Bus was put in place to promote a Safe Halloween through school visits.
- Four press releases were issued
- The Safe Halloween initiative received coverage by a number of local media
- Dublin West Access radio, covering Clondalkin, Lucan and Palmerston, broadcast interviews with Council Officials regarding activities planned for Halloween 2012.
- Information regarding “THE HAUNTED” Halloween celebrations was provided to residents associations, community centres, schools and libraries.
- “THE HAUNTED” Halloween celebration was promoted on the SDCC website, facebook and twitter, http://www.tallaght-arts.ie/2012/10/, the Hallofest website, in “the BUZZ” Clondalkin
2. Prevention and Reduction of bonfire material/Clean Up
Halloween 2012 fell on Wednesday 31st October 2012. As in previous years, bonfire related activity commenced approximately two weeks in advance of Halloween with the first reports received from the public via the Customer Care system on the 15th October 2012.
Pre Halloween Sites
In total, 134 customer care enquiries were logged in the customer care system by close of business on 31st October reporting bonfire materials at locations around the county. While some of these reports were duplicated, they translated into a total of 89 sites to be dealt with. The map below shows the range of locations reported -
Bonfire Sites
There were 380 recorded bonfires in 2012. This represents a 8% increase on the 2011 figure (351). The clean up operation has commenced across all areas of the county. The map below shows the locations where bonfires have been found to have happened to date.
The table below shows the breakdown of locations by electoral area -
| Halloween 2012 | Pre Halloween Sites | Bonfires |
| Total | 89 | 380 |
Details of resources deployed to Halloween 2012 are as set out below –
|
Details of Clean Up Operations |
Total |
|
| |
| Sites Reported |
|
| Pre Halloween Sites | 89 |
| Bonfires | 380 |
| Total | 469 |
|
| |
| Site Clean Ups |
|
| No of Garda Supported Cleans | 33 |
| Pre Sites Cleaned | 89 |
| Total Bonfire Sites Cleaned | 469 |
|
|
|
|
| |
| The number of man hours involved in the clean-up | 1,728 |
| The tonnage of material collected | 286 |
|
| |
Civic Amenity
The Council’s open day at the Ballymount Civic Amenity was a significant success though the sheer numbers attending (approx 2,800) will mean that the approach and arrangements will need to be reviewed in preparation if the event is to continue in 2013.
| Waste Stream |
2010 |
2011 | 2012 |
| No of Visitors | 3,056 | 1,012 | 2,800 |
| Domestic Waste |
|
| 59 |
| Bulky Waste |
|
| 104 |
| Timber |
|
| 5 |
| Green waste |
|
| 31 |
| Other |
|
| 43 |
| Total (tonnes) |
97 |
126 | 242 |
3. “THE HAUNTED” Celebration
For 2012 it was decided to adopt a new approach that would promote a new message in celebrating Halloween in a fun and safe way. “ THE HAUNTED” Halloween celebration was organized as a community participatory initiative aimed at building community capacity and providing a fun filled spectacle for families through the direct involvement of young people. The events aim was to move away from the mixed message of the community bonfire while maintaining a focus for families and communities around which the Halloween celebrations could take place.
A programme was developed with community arts groups that involved young people from Tallaght and Clondalkin in arts and performance workshops. In these workshops the young people learned the art of costume making and street performance. The workshops culminated in two events featuring pageant type music and dance displays, one in Tallaght and one in Clondalkin. These events showcased the new skills learned by the young people. In Tallaght 6 community groups were involved in the parade (Dizzy Footwork, Dominics Community Centre, Tallaght Youth Theatre, St Mark’s Choir, Fettercairn Community Centre and Tallaght Youth Forum) with approximately 400 young people and families taking part in the parade. In Clondalkin 171 young people from 14 Community groups took part in the pre Halloween workshops. From this number, approximately 100 young people and families came together to part in the pageant and celebrations.
The Cost of Halloween to the Council
The cost to date are broken down as follows -
Cost of Safe Halloween Promotional Campaign € 10,000
Cost of Clean Up € 63,409
Cost of Civic Amenity Free day € 56,000
Events Cost € 30,000
Total Cost €159,409
(circulated herewith)
There was some substantial learning from this years events and as part of the review this learning will be carried forward into the plan for 2013 having regard to safety concerns and budgetary positions.