COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF RATHFARNHAM / TEMPLEOGUE / FIRHOUSE / BOHERNABREENA AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, September 12, 2023

QUESTION NO. 2

QUESTION: Councillor C. Bailey

To ask the Manager to give a report/evaluation on the efficacy of the raised, sand bedded pitches installed in Tymon Park and whether this project is likely to be rolled out for more clubs to avail of.

REPLY:

The sand based pitches in Tymon Park were built on receipt of sports capital grants in 2017. The proposal and agreement for the sand based pitches was made sometime prior to that. Sand based pitches are a particular type of pitch upgrade that are resource demanding and are not suitable to all locations, uses and conditions. In recent years climate change has resulted in atypical weather patterns of prolonged droughts both summer and winter, sometimes followed by heavy deluges of rain over a short period. In some cases the prolonged droughts resulted in water shortages and a requirement to conserve water. It is uncertain if this pattern will continue. SDCC have proposed within SDCC's Sports Pitch Strategy to upgrade grass pitches to improve their playability. The particular type of pitch upgrade proposed will depend on a number of factors such as type of pitch, its use, location, soil conditions,  prevailing weather etc. and decisions are best made on a case by case basis.

It is worth noting that an upgrade of a pitch to 'Good' quality status supports 3.5 No. matches per week to be played on a GAA pitch, 4 No. matches per week to be played on a Rugby pitch and 3 No. matches to be played per week on a Soccer pitch; anything above that deteriorates the pitch surface and eventually results in decreased ability to play matches. Training is not permitted on SDCC pitches as it damages the pitches and leaves them unavailable for match play.

SDCC's Sports Pitch Strategy recommends a number of actions that will ensure clubs have sufficient pitches to train and play on. The proposed upgrade of grass pitches is one action but it is linked to the proposed provision of Artificial Grass Pitches, as grass pitches alone are not sufficient to provide for SDCC's growing demand.  Artificial Grass Pitches support 10 match equivalents for (for soccer / Rugby) and 40 hours of training per week. In the absence of adequate Artificial Grass Pitch provision SDCC's grass pitches will come under increasing demand, further deteriorating their quality and playability; whether they are subject to pitch upgrades or not.