COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF TALLAGHT AREA COMMITTEE

Monday, June 28, 2021

MOTION NO. 4

MOTION: Councillor T. Costello

To ask the manager to report if there has been changes recently to grass cutting locations and have many areas been changed from requiring cutting to no longer being maintained.

REPORT:

The grass cutting schedule for the County aims to achieve weekly cutting of playing pitches and fortnightly cutting of all other areas including roadside margins, open spaces and parks. These target frequencies have not changed, they can vary from time to time for example it takes a number of weeks for the operation to get up to full speed at the start of the season.  Weather can impact the need to cut at these frequencies - a period of warm and dry weather can reduce the need to cut at these frequencies whilst warm, wet weather can make it necessary to cut grass more frequently.

A total of 139 hectares of parkland will receive reduced and managed grass cutting in 2021 to encourage biodiversity and pollinator activity, this is an increase of approximately 50% on the area managed in this way three to four years ago and this area is likely to continue to grow each year. A number of additional areas were added in an informal manner to the reduced cutting regime, these areas are being reviewed at present and some are being cut.

The Council’s Public Realm Section is now in regular receipt of requests from local residents and residents associations requesting that grass areas within housing estates are designated as wildflower areas in the Pollinator Plan.  A number of such requests are being considered at present.  It will be necessary to ensure that such proposals have widespread local support before they can be accommodated.  In this regard a number of options will be considered, for example cutting once per year as in the main parks or alternatively a cut once every six weeks to allow a growth of pollinator friendly wildflowers during that period with this process being repeated throughout the summer on a six week cycle.  In both circumstances the grass cuttings will need to be lifted to create the conditions required for wildflowers to flourish.  This would represent a major change from the existing method of grass cutting employed whereby cuttings are mulched and left on the ground, and this aspect requires further examination by the Council.

All local authorities received a letter from Ministers O’Brien, Noonan and Burke at the end of March this year at the time of launching the second All-Ireland Pollinator Plan requesting that Council’s delay the cutting of grass in certain areas to encourage the growth of pollinator friendly wildflowers.  It is very likely that more will be required in time to come from local authorities in the area of grass management, to move away from the traditional approach to grass cutting and to manage more areas in a way that promotes pollinator activity and biodiversity.