Councillors ask where are the Cabra trees with no movement on greening despite funding
Plans to transform Cabra with new trees and thousands of plants still haven’t moved forward - despite receiving funding for this year.
In an emergency motion at Tuesday’s Central Area Committee meeting, Councillor Cieran Perry highlighted his frustration that, despite being announced to great fanfare back in January, the Fassaugh Avenue Greening project has yet to proceed. This major greening effort was supposed to begin in Cabra in 2025 before spreading to further areas in the subsequent years.
“I got a really disappointing reply last month and I was hoping there’d be an update this month. I’m really not happy at all with these delays,” Cllr Perry stated.
While Cllr Perry assumed the Parks Department didn’t have the resources for the project, Cllr Seamas McGrattan later revealed that money had already been allocated from their discretionary fund for the greening. This led to confusion about just what has caused such a prolonged delay.
“The main road through Cabra has two disgraceful sites on it embarrassing the whole community. I’m asking that the committee today insist the Parks Department allocate resources to progress this in the immediate term,” he said.
Cllr Gayle Ralph added that representatives had already announced this greening project to the local community and that they are now inundated with emails from people wondering why the work has been delayed. “My understanding was that work would start this year and then we would move out to Drumcondra and Glasnevin by next year. I’d love an update with concrete dates that we can share with our constituents.”
The manager’s responses stated that funds have been allocated for Fassaugh Avenue and that they are waiting on a response to explain what has slowed down the situation. “It’s certainly one of our priority greening projects locally so we’ll ask the Parks Department again for an update on it and, all going well, we’ll push for 2026 I’d expect,” they said.
With areas like Nicholas St, Dorset St, and Marrowbone Lane all set for immediate intervention, the greening project aims to accommodate approximately 25 trees and 5,000 plants. The Council also plans to give householders plants for their front garden.
The goals of this initiative include embracing the mental health, stress, and wellbeing benefits of trees and nature, with the new greening acting as an aesthetically pleasing addition to the area that even helps reduce flooding risks by intercepting rainfall and maintaining soil permeability. With improved air quality and a reduction of greenhouse gases, the unseen benefits of trees are significant.
While the Fassaugh Avenue Greening project has been delayed, the Council has planted over 1,600 trees since 2017 and over 200 greening projects have been completed in that timeframe. Dublin City Council has been contacted for more information regarding the delay.
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