COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, July 13, 2015

QUESTION NO. 8

QUESTION: Councillor D. Looney

To ask the Chief Executive how many trees are intended to be planted by the Council during 2015, broken down by local electoral area, and to make a statement on tree planting in the Council in general?

REPLY:

The Council plans its annual tree planting in accordance with available budget resources. The financial constraints of recent years have resulted in very limited implementation of new or replacement tree planting across the county, including the Rathfarnham/Templeogue/Terenure area, over the last 5 years.  In recent years also, due to an increasing demand for maintenance of existing trees, the Council has focussed the application of available resources on tree pruning and removal.    

As stated in the Council's Draft Tree Management Policy "Living With Trees", from 2015, the Council aims to identify an annual target and budget for tree planting to re-establish its commitment to a countywide programme of tree planting.  Over the coming months, it is planned to seek provision for a tree planting programme as part of the Council's 2016 budget with a view to implementing tree planting during spring and late autumn 2016.  The extent of any tree planting programme will be determined by the staff and financial resources available.  Areas targeted for new tree planting will be those where trees have been removed or where there is an identified need to increase the overall tree cover.  Requests from Council members and local residents for new trees in their road or area will also be taken into consideration within the planting programme. Individual requests will be prioritised according to the number of trees already on the street, including those in front gardens and on adjacent land. 

Subject to budgetary provision for tree planting in 2016, details of a proposed tree planting programme in 2016 will be presented to meetings of the Council's Area Committees at the earliest opportunity.