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SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF RATHFARNHAM/TEMPLEOGUE/FIRHOUSE/BOHERNABREENA AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, April 13, 2021

QUESTION NO. 7

QUESTION: Councillor D. O'Donovan

To ask the Manager for an update on the grass cutting schedule for the upcoming season, especially in light of the ongoing Level Five restrictions and increased numbers of residents out walking.

 

REPLY:

The annual grass cutting programme started around mid-March and is currently building to full capacity.  Grass cutting is considered to be an essential service for a number of reasons as set out below.  Housing estate open spaces are in use daily by local children and it is considered essential to keep these spaces properly maintained for this use.  Parks are seeing an unprecedented level of use from local residents which arises from the 5km restriction on travel, it is therefore necessary to keep grass areas in parks well maintained to accommodate this level of use.  Grass cutting on roadside margins is also considered necessary for social distancing purposes, to allow walkers to step of the footpath and onto the grass margin to pass other walkers or vice versa.  The target frequency of fortnightly cutting in parks and on roadside margins will apply this year again.  The frequency of cutting of playing pitches reduced from weekly to fortnightly in 2020 during periods when the pitches were not in use.  This is still the case at the present time however this cutting frequency will increase to weekly again once sporting activities are allowed to start up.