The plots thicken as 100 allotments lie fallow and idle
Almost 100 letters to allotments owners in Friarstown have been issued by South Dublin County Council to those who have underused or abandoned their plots for a significant amount of time.
The SDCC decision came as Councillor Róisín Mannion (SF) urged the Council’s department responsible for the plots to reclaim and reassign the ones which “do not adhere to the terms of lease,” in the Firhouse/ Bohernabreena area committee meeting on Tuesday, September 10.
There are currently 317 allotments in Friarstown, and over 150 people on a waiting list. “Despite there being significant waiting lists for these spaces, the criteria for reclaiming them is not enforced,” said Cllr Mannion.
The council said plots will be offered to the next applicants on the list “in the coming weeks,” and that “some minor work by SDCC on these plots has commenced to prepare them for usage.”
With one third of the Friarstown allotments being unused, Pat O’Rourke, Secretary of the South Dublin Allotments Association, said the group has been calling for the council to act.
According to their data, the number of unused plots in Friarstown went from 65 in 2023 to 92 in 2024, and in the last few months it increased to 105.
Of those ones, 17 have been abandoned for two years, 14 for three years and 7 for four years. There are three plots whose owners haven’t set foot in for six years.
“In our experience 40pc of holders stop taking care of the allotment after one year,” said Pat. “That’s why I say people should take on a plot only if they have at least three to five hours a week to work on it.”
While Cllr Mannion reported that approximately “20 plot-holders have handed keys back” to allow the Council to reassign them, Pat is sure he hasn’t seen any new faces in Friarstown.
SDAA would be happy to have more say in the management of abandoned plots but reported an overall lack of response from SDCC. “We are supposed to meet with the Council staff bi-monthly, and last time we met was in June of last year,” said Pat.
“There would be plots who aren’t recorded as unused, and we’d know the owner is living in County Mayo,” he added.
As overgrown weeds on the abandoned plots can affect the cultivation on the adjacent plots, Pat said it would be beneficial to everyone if the Association had permission to take care of it.
Applicants who wish to register for an allotment must complete SDCC application form, to be requested by calling 01-4149000 or downloaded from HERE
