The DLR Parks Department have put together the programme for 2026 tree planting in our area, as well as trees due to be removed or pruned. Overall there will be over 4,623 trees planted and 226 trees will have to be removed, mostly for safety reasons. There are due to be 768 trees pruned this year, almost 1,000 fewer than last year.
Every year since joining the council I have pushed for the annual budget for tree planting and pruning to be increased so that we can have more suitably planted and maintained trees in our areas. This year the trees budget didn’t keep up with inflation, due to budget decisions made by a majority of councillors in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. This is why we will see fewer trees pruned back in the Gallops, Leopardstown Heights, Sandyford Hall and Kingston where there’s more pruning needed with wrongly planted trees getting out of control more than ever.
Last year there was supposed to be another community woodland planting day in the Belarmine/Aiken’s Village area, with 500 trees to be provided by the council that the community can all get together to plant. That was postponed as they couldn’t find a suitable location, but the council Parks Department are planning to do the planting this year at a new location in the area.
Volunteering to plant trees in the community woodland is fun and sociable, and the best part is that you can see the trees you planted grow over the years. Especially great for kids if you can drag them along!
I asked at the council meeting recently why we plant so many small whips:
You can see the full report on the Tree Care Programme 2026 here.
There are some trees missing from this list that I have requested on behalf of residents, so I will be following up on those to try to get them added to the programme. If you have any requests not covered above or any queries, you can contact me at any time.
I will continue to push for our council budget to include more planting of trees, community woodlands and maintenance of existing trees.
