COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF TALLAGHT AREA COMMITTEE

Monday, March 28, 2022

QUESTION NO. 4

QUESTION: Councillor M. Duff

"Will the Manager outline to this Area Committee the scope of the Park Ranger service in parks in the Tallaght area. Will the manager detail the number of visits by Park Rangers on a daily basis, including weekends, to each designated Park in the Tallaght and if there are any plans to put a permanent service in each designated Park?"

REPLY:

The duties of the park ranger are centred around engagement with the public and monitoring of the usage of the park and it's facilities by park users, the ranger is in general the first point of contact for members of the public whenever an issue of a serious nature arises in the park.  They monitor playgrounds and equipment for condition and damage on a daily basis and bring issues to the attention of the supervisors and maintenance staff who then address these.  They also engage with the Gardai as needs be regarding anti-social behaviour in parks and in general monitor public behaviour to ensure that park bye laws are being observed, including in relation to the control of dogs within parks.

There are 4 park rangers based in Tymon Park depot who cover the areas of Tymon Park, Dodder Valley Park, Rathfarnham Park and Sean Walsh Park as well as smaller parks in the area such as Ballycragh Park.  The main parks are patrolled on a daily basis by the rangers with other parks visited as required but at a minimum on a weekly basis.    The recent introduction of e-bikes into the service on a trial basis has shown that rangers can be more mobile around the larger parks and can move more easily between parks and it is hoped that more of these can be provided for use by the rangers in the future.  There is a total of 14 rangers spread across the county, currently there are no plans for a permanent ranger service in all parks as it is not considered to be necessary.  The service is provided on a 7 day week basis with rangers rostered on duty to cover weekends as well as week days.