COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF LUCAN AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

MOTION NO. 1

MOTION: Councillor L. O'Toole

That this Area Committee ask the Chief Executive, since the implementation of the National Biodiversity Pollinator Plan 2015-2020, if he can confirm if the Council are signed up to this plan? As we now have many voluntary community groups of which many of them are residents' groups, we ask that groups are allowed to do more biodiversity projects and in particular, wildflowers.

REPORT:

By becoming a formal signatory or partner to the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, a Local Authority makes the following commitments:

  1. That the Local Authority supports the ethos of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan and will consider the Plan in their policies, plans, and management decisions where possible.
  1. That the Local Authority considers the evidence-based actions in the Pollinator Plan's guideline document Councils: Actions to help Pollinators, and to carry out one pollinator-friendly action in the first year of signing up and plan to carry out at least three more within the following five years. The guideline document lists 30 possible actions, many of which are low cost or cost-neutral.
  1. That the Local Authority will annually update the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan Team at the National Biodiversity Data Centre on the positive pollinator actions planned, implemented or maintained.

SDCC have not formally signed up to the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan.  However, in the course of implementing actions listed in the County Heritage Plan, the Council's Heritage Officer routinely contributes biodiversity advice to the planning process, to Council, to other Council Departments, and to members of the public.  Advice is also frequently offered to community groups and Local Tidy Towns Groups, to advise on general biodiversity issues and, more recently as a result of the Pollinator Plan, on pollinator projects in their local areas. 

Since the launch of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, two locations for the placement of bee hives have also been successful.  The Heritage Officer has also directed an additional focus on identifying and managing pollinator-specific meadows in Council's parks.  This has involved the identification of grassland locations which are suitable for reduced mowing regimes to allow for longer periods of flowering for wildflowers and grasses, with seasonal cutting of the meadows at appropriate times. 

Therefore, while SDCC has not formally signed up to the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, it is suggested that this Local Authority is already postively contributing to the protection of pollinating insects and with agreement, can continue to do so by addressing other possible projects as recommended in the above mentioned pollinator guidelines document for Councils.    

If agreement is achieved on the Motion above, a more formal process of signing up to the objectives of the National Pollinator Plan can be investigated and progressed.