€150k costs expected in dealing with bonfires
By Brendan Grehan
THE total cost of dealing with Halloween bonfires in 2019 is expected to cost South Dublin County Council €150,000.
There were also 226 bonfires recorded in the county in 2019.
The figures were disclosed at the monthly meeting of the council on Monday in response to a question from Councillor Madeleine Johansson.
Cllr Johansson had asked how many reports of bonfire materials “were received prior to Halloween in the area, including which sites, and how many of those sites had bonfire material removed?”
Prior to Halloween the council replied that they had received over 150 reports of stockpiled bonfire materials. Unburnt bonfire materials totalling 237 tonnes were collected by the council before October 31 last.
The council said a “small number” of bonfire sites could not be cleared “due to threats to public realm staff”.
The total number of bonfires recorded in 2019 was 226. A total of 585 tonnes of waste has been collected in 2019 and 237 tonnes of that was captured pre-Halloween and before it was set on fire.
The council added: “The total cost of the Halloween/bonfire-related work to date stands at €102,566 and this is expected to rise to around €150,000 when all costs have been included.
Reinstatement of bonfire sites will take place in the spring, when ground conditions will have improved.”
