COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
Monday, June 08, 2026
QUESTION NO. 17
QUESTION: Councillor F. Timmons
To ask the Chief Executive what the Council’s policy is on litter collection and grass cutting, whether litter should be collected before grass cutting takes place, and how this is monitored and checked?
REPLY:
The Council maintains approximately 1,750 hectares of grassed areas across the County. These areas are managed under a range of maintenance regimes, having regard to location, usage, operational requirements and biodiversity objectives, and include the following principal categories:
- Housing estates and local greens (approximately 1,300 hectares): these areas include estate greens and neighbourhood parks and are generally cut on a bi-weekly rota. In suitable locations, selected areas are intentionally left uncut for longer periods in order to support biodiversity and pollinators, with such areas typically cut every six to eight weeks.
- Roadside verges and roundabouts: grass verges along main roads are generally maintained on a bi-weekly basis during the growing season.
- Sports pitches (166 pitches): pitches are cut on a weekly basis during the peak growing season.
- Wildflower meadows (approximately 210 hectares): these areas are cut once annually, with the arisings removed in order to support the continued establishment and management of meadow habitat.
As a general operational practice, litter picking is undertaken one to two days in advance of grass cutting, with a view to minimising the scattering of litter and the risk of damage to grass cutting machinery from discarded items, including canisters and similar objects. In heavily littered areas, the time required for litter removal can have an impact on the productivity of grass cutting crews. While every effort is made to remove litter in advance of cutting, it is not always possible, having regard to the scale of the area maintained by the Council, to identify and remove every individual item prior to works commencing.
The performance of grass cutting operations is monitored by supervisory staff through on-site inspection. Where litter remains evident following grass cutting, appropriate corrective action is put in place.