COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, May 10, 2021

QUESTION NO. 25

QUESTION: Councillor L. O'Toole

To ask the Chief Executive to report on the councils pollinator plan. To include the areas/estates that have been selected and to advise how these areas where selected.

REPLY:

SDCC's Pollinator Action Plan 2021 – 2025 was launched by SDCC to deliver the Councils commitment to promoting habitats for pollinators in this county and addressing the rapid decline in our bee populations. One third of bee species in Ireland are threatened with extinction due to the reduction in the amount of food (flowers) and safe nesting sites in our landscapes. SDCC has signed up to the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan and have developed the SDCC Pollinator Action Plan based on the 30 actions in which the All Ireland Pollinator Plan outlined how councils can help pollinators. The Council's actions are tailored to the environment of SDCC’s parks and open spaces.

Some of our actions to benefit pollinators and biodiversity have been underway for some time within our parks, for example, in order to develop wildflower meadows specific to our county; altered mowing regimes have been in place in a number of the Council’s larger parks/open-spaces. This reduced frequency of grass cutting allows wildflowers to flower and set seed, providing additional opportunities for pollinating insects which are currently challenged by habitat loss and chemical usage. The sites, to date, have been selected by Public Realm staff and the Council's heritage officer based on criteria such as their particular soil types, the nature of their botanical composition, and location within a park. In 2021 the wildflower meadows locations total to 139 ha., the locations map is attached.