COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF LUCAN AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

MOTION NO. 3

MOTION: Councillor P. Gogarty

Cathaoirleach's Business

"That this Committee calls on the Chief Executive to review the leaf collection/removal schedule in Palmerston and Lucan following on from the heavy rainfall last month which highlighted that the new schedule is not sufficient to keep drains and culverts clear of leaves, and needs to find the right balance between reaction to requests and a methodical system; and that furthermore a schedule be set up in advance and publicised so that local environmental groups and other residents can supplement the clean-ups if they know the dates in advance."

REPORT:

Met Eireann advised South Dublin County Council that heavy rainfall was forecast for the Dublin area between November 13th and 14th. During this period up to 65mm of rain fell within some areas of the county.

During a severe weather event of this type it would not be expected that the normal leaf removal schedule alone would be an adequate response hence South Dublin County Council staff and crews were actively monitoring the situation both on the ground and in liaison with Met Eireann. Council crews were dispatched to cleaning gullies and removing debris from all river screens in flood prone areas. Fortunately no residential properties were flooded however as a result of this severe rainfall event localised ponding, sewer chokes and some overflows occurred.

The Council had maintenance crews on standby to deal with emergencies over the 24hrs. In addition we also provide an emergency 24/7 service where members of the public seeking assistance in an emergency can contact ph: 01 4574907. Incidents were tackled by a combination of Council's Drainage and Roads Maintenance Sections response crews. The Drainage Section responded to some 20 call outs and all were resolved.

A review of the leaf removal schedule is currently underway and a report will be brought back to the area committees.