COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, July 10, 2023

QUESTION NO. 15

QUESTION: Councillor S. Moynihan

To ask the Chief Executive as to why grass is not being collected after it is cut, and why this is the case especially where extremely high grass has been cut.

REPLY:

The normal grass cutting programme provides for the cutting of grass on playing pitches at a frequency of weekly and in parks, housing estate open spaces and roadside margins at a frequency of fortnightly.  The grass cuttings from this programme are not collected, the grass is mulched and the fine cuttings are left to fertilise the grass areas.

The grass cutting programme has also included an annual meadow mowing programme in certain designated park areas, this practice involves the lifting of those grass cuttings which in turn encourages the growth of natural wildflowers and discourages the growth of grass.  The meadow mowing programme is carried out in 2 parts, one in spring and one in autumn, with the first part of the annual programme just recently completed.

Since 2022 the grass cutting programme has also included a short meadow programme where areas in both park locations and also in some housing estates have been allowed to grow with the frequency of cutting reduced to 6 to 8 weeks to enable pollinating wildflowers to grow for that period. This programme also involves the lifting of the grass cuttings as this is best practice for the encouragement of wildflower growth. As some of the locations selected are in housing estates it is acknowledged that local residents may wish to see open spaces cut short so that they can be used locally for recreation, and where this arises the fortnightly cutting regime can and will be restored.

A number of locations have been brought to the attention of the Public Realm Section where the cutting and lifting of long grass appears not to have been carried out as intended, with grass cuttings left uncollected after cutting.  These areas are being examined at present to establish what has happened, the necessary corrective action or change to the grass cutting programme will be made once that examination has been completed.