COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, March 11, 2019

QUESTION NO. 10

QUESTION: Councillor R. McMahon

I notice that only 30 tree stumps were removed in the year 2018 and they were in Jan 2018. Have the Council stopped removing stumps or are there none on the list to be removed?

REPLY:

When a tree is felled by the Council, it is not always possible to remove the stump at the same time. In these circumstances a short tree stump is left as a temporary measure.  The stump is usually left at around 1m high so that it does not constitute a trip hazard in the intervening period. As outlined in the Councils Tree Management Policy ‘Living with Trees’ tree stumps are placed on a stump removal list and sufficient time needs to elapse to allow breakdown of residual underground root material, the process from removal to replanting may take up to 3-5 years.

Due to problems with the Council's own stump grinder and the lack of availability of a similar machine for hire very few stumps were removed by the Council during 2018.  Following a tendering process to purchase a new machine an order has now been placed and delivery is expected at the end of March.  It is expected that the remaining tree stumps listed on the 2019 Tree Stump Removal programme, approximately 2,000 in number, will be completed before the end of the current year.  While the Council's own crews have not been removing tree stumps in recent times, approximately 300 tree stumps have been removed by the Council's contractor since the start of the year.