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Letter to the Editor, 3rd December 2002 Dear Editor, Lest readers feel that the Green Party chain themselves to trees on a whim let me assure you that our campaign to retain the more mature and venerable trees on O’Connell Street has been ongoing for some time. Back in February 2001 we tabled a Motion to the City Council that called on the City Manager "to ensure that the venerable one hundred year old Plane Trees on Upper O’Connell Street that witnessed the Easter Rising in 1916 be retained as part of any plan to rejuvenate the area. We were shocked at the time to discover that the City Council was preparing to cut down all the trees on the Street. The 1997 Integrated Area Plan did depict a new planting scheme, but we assumed that the sketch plans were as aspirational as the fanciful perspective that graced its front cover depicting a transparent Nelson’s Pillar rising above the rooftops. Nowhere in the 125 pages of text did it state that all existing trees would be removed. Perhaps this was an oversight, but I now suspect that its authors were nervous of any adverse public reaction to tree felling. The freehand sketch plans did depict formal tree planting, but they showed the new trees maturing prior to any existing trees being removed. Incidentally the Plan was approved by the then Minister for the Environment Noel Dempsey, and approval was not a _reserved_ function of the City Council. Last September an emergency motion tabled by the Green Party to halt the tree felling was approved. We enthusiastically support the O’Connell Street Plan including the traffic calming, formal planting, street paving, Luas and cycle lanes. And yes we do support the Spire. We feel that the new and the old can live side by side. We simply feel that the more venerable trees planted in 1908 should be retained, and would compliment the Plan. Such ‘Witness Trees’ are rare. We would also be happy to see the trees that currently rub the noses of the Grattan and Moore Statues in College Green transplanted to more suitable locations. At the December City Council meeting the Green Party will propose that a Tree Preservation Order be prepared for the seven remaining mature trees on Upper O’Connell Street, and that the City Manager proceed with the implementation of the rest of the Integrated Area Plan. Currently there are only two Tree Preservation Orders in place for the entire city, one for a line of oaks in Raheny, the other for a Sycamore in Kilmainham. At this stage, we encourage members of the public who know of any other trees that they wish to see preserved, to lobby their elected representatives to prepare Tree Preservation Orders for them, and thus ensure their survival.
Sincerely,
Ciarán Cuffe TD |
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Ciarán Cuffe is a TD for the Dún Laoghaire
Dáil Constituency. Ciarán can be contacted at Dáil Éireann, Kildare Street,
Dublin 2 or 96 Patrick Street, Dún Laoghaire Tel. 284 6060
or 618 3082, Fax 618 4341, Email
Ciaran |
CiaranCuffe.com