COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF LUCAN / PALMERSTOWN / NORTH CLONDALKIN AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, November 25, 2025

QUESTION NO.9

QUESTION: Councillor L. O'Toole

That this Committee recognises and commends the Council staff and/or contractors responsible for carrying out the leaf-blowing and path-clearing works in Lucan Village noting the excellent standard of work being done. Further to this, to ask the Chief Executive to clarify whether the leaf clearance programme applies solely to the Village Green area or if it also includes the approach roads leading into the village in particular Courtney's Hill, where gradients are steep and the build-up of leaves can pose a safety concern for pedestrians.

REPLY:

As part of the awarding of the contract for the Road Sweeping and associated cleaning services, the contract documents stipulate the frequency of street sweeping required to maintain the road network.

Road Type	Frequency
Dual Carriageway	Monthly
Single Carriageway Main Roads	Monthly
Single Carriageway Main Urban Approach Roads	Bi-weekly
Housing Estates - Main Road	Once Every Three Months
Housing Estates	Once Every Six Weeks
Industrial Estates	Once Every Three Months

The contract also allows for additional leaf clearance to be undertaken from 1^st September to 31^st January. This work can include the clearance of leaves from roadways, kerbs, channels, gullies, verges, footpaths and cycle tracks, and the collection of bagged leaves from cleaning undertaken by local residents. This work is carried out as deemed necessary and does not replace normal programmed cleansing.

It should be noted, due to the prolonged duration that trees lose their leaves, the clearing and the timing of an effective collection is difficulty to schedule and can create high demand on resources from mid October through to the end of November, and after occurrence of high winds. In certain circumstances repeat visits are required, which can cause additional pressure on resources. Local Public Realm supervisors monitor the areas for scheduling of leaf clearing.  In the event a councillor or member of the public believe an area needs attention, a request can be sent through to publicrealm@sdublincoco.ie where the request will be assessed and scheduled for maintenance.