COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, April 14, 2025

QUESTION NO.4

QUESTION: Councillor H. Farrell

To ask the Chief Executive what percentage of trees planted by South Dublin County Council during 2024 were native species?

REPLY:

During the course of 2024 South Dublin County Council planted a total of 3,651 trees across the entire County. Of this total number 2,853 were planted under the Public Realm Section's annual tree planting programme while the remainder were planted across various construction and development projects such as various park upgrade schemes, the N81 landscape improvement scheme and the Dodder Valley Green Way.  Of the total number of trees planted approximately 2,000 of these were native Irish tree species and this equates to approximately 55% of trees planted.  In addition to the main tree planting programme and tree planting on development projects a total of 21,325 native whips were planted as part of Mini Woodlands Projects.

The Council endeavours to plant as many native trees as possible however these efforts are impacted by available supply as well as other practical considerations. When planting trees the approach of ‘Right Tree, Right Place’ is considered at all times. Irish species such as oak are considered suitable for open space planting and planting in parks however they are considered unsuitable in a streetscape setting. Mountain Ash provides colour and variety while remaining at a suitable size allowing it to work well within road verges. Care must be taken to plant a variety of species to ensure disease and infection don’t impact large numbers of trees in a single area.