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THE OFFICE OF Public Works is going to implement a new pollinator plan for the Leinster House lawn and surrounding areas, which will include planting Irish wildflowers, using organic weedkiller, and installing bee boxes.
In June, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin suggested that the lawn at Leinster House be allowed to grow into a wildflower meadow in order to encourage biodiversity.
City and county councils have been doing other work to promote biodiversity in their areas, including planting bee-friendly bulbs and growing such meadows in parks.
Today, Minister of State with special responsibility for the Office of Public Works Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran announced that the OPW will be implementing the new pollinator plan for Leinster House lawn.
The actions for the Leinster Lawn include “planting pollinator-friendly bulbs and perennial plants, introducing native wildflowers, reducing annual bedding and incorporating pollinator-friendly plants into the formal planters”.
Along with this, organic weed control will be used only where necessary, and bee boxes will be installed.
“These initiatives will attract bees and provide excellent sources of pollen and nectar, while maintaining the important setting of Leinster House,” a statement to TheJournal.ie said.
This plan, which incorporates actions from the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, was recently presented to the Oireachtas Committee and approval was granted last week. Works will immediately commence on the implementation of the various actions in the proposal.
The Minister acknowledge the major restoration project approaching completion at Leinster House and stated “These proposed changes to the Leinster Lawn will enhance the recent restorations works to Leinster House while encouraging pollinators to flourish within the city.
“Any changes that can be made, no matter how small, will help safeguard the future of these little wonders who are so entwined in our everyday life.”
Dr Una Fitzpatrick, Ecologist from the National Biodiversity Data Centre which worked on the changes said “it’s not about letting the landscape go wild, but about managing it in a way that is sustainable for pollinators, so that they can survive and continue to provide us with their vital service”.
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Lovely idea. They should offer a small amount towards everyone either buying a bee box or giving our seeds that would produce wild flowers in gardens. Where I live the estate all got packets of seeds to plant for the bees and other critters that help. Most people planted them and there are a lot more bees, butterflies and birds around as a result.
@Madra: they will grow naturally if you dont cut your grass
Cue the “but what about the homeless” comments. Can’t wait.
@Darren Bates: No here is an obvious one Master Bates..were you in my school at roll call, we would have peed our pants every morning.
@Darren Bates: But what about the homeless Darren????.
@Darren Bates: Only a amadan would try to make a joke about the homeless.
@Darren Bates: no homeless bees
@Darren Bates: what about the homeless … there, make you feel better
Fantastic. Now make it happen in all villages around the country. No more concrete please!!!!
Good Plan!
I have a very large ‘ wild garden ‘ and orchard, always wanted to know more about bees and bee boxes, wonder if Co Councils can help with that.
@Eileen Roche: the internet can certainly help with that, there are thousands of YouTube videos.
@Eileen Roche: look up the all ireland pollinators plan huge resources on web
@Eileen Roche: I’m afraid that the only thing councils can help with is bulldozing miles of hedges during nesting season and spraying weed killer everywhere.
@Eileen Roche: There was an episode of Gardeners World about special bee boxes plus last week’s whole episode of Gardeners World was all about wild flower meadows and attracting bees, butterflies,etc!
@Sean: they haven’t sprayed in my local park this year and have left an area uncut except for a pathway through it. They also seem to have planted seed bombs of wildflowers.
Probably come in a million over budget,
Baggsy being the first to claim off the state for getting a bee sting.
@Paul Gregg: natural disaster .. no claim allowed
Fantastic rats inside and bees outside.
This is an inappropriate location in which to create a messy, wildflower meadow. The lawns of national parliaments are supposed to look very neat and respectable.
Turning Leinster House lawn into a wild and overgrown nature reserve would also be deeply disrespectful to the men who laid the groundwork for our national freedom: Arthur Griffith, Michael Collins, etc, who are commemorated in the (up until now) very noticeable obelisk on Leinster Lawn.
What we are reading about here is simply political pandering to the Green Party (the party which opposes the necessary trimming of roadside hedge-grows and the necessary dredging of rivers in the Irish countryside in order to prevent flooding) by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil in order to finesse the greens into joining a future coalition government. This plan by the OPW for Leinster Lawn should be cancelled.
@J. Reid: are you for real?
@J. Reid: I really can’t tell if you’re trolling or you really do believe all of that ‘oul guff you’ve just typed.
I’m more interested in ensuring pollinators survive and thrive than looking at a manicured useless lawn. People who describe the obliteration of roadside hedgerows as “necessary” when there are so many other eco friendly and sustainable ways to do the job are not living in the real world. As for being “disrespectful” to our founding fathers ? There are hundreds of monuments etc already to these people, one lousy obelisk isn’t going to matter.
@J. Reid: actually the wild flowers look great instead of a lawn.
@J. Reid: 0 Points for trolling.
I think the likes of Arthur Griffith, Michael Collins would rather see bee’s continue to live then see them die off and ruin agriculture in Ireland.
@J. Reid: what about the women ? Was it only men that laid out the groundwork for freedom for all? As usual their contribution ignored. And anyway i think they’d be delighted with a bit of wilding of thd lawns. Way too pompous at the moment.
@J. Reid: ah get a life ..
@J. Reid: hahahahahaha you are some clown.You dont have a clue what a wildflower meadow is
Mehole looking to do the place up before he pulls the plug and takes top job after brexit. Never mind the plebs around the country, leinster house needs a fixing for mehole, and moneys no object.
All about new builds for FFG…
Fantastic! Will Leo be putting in a swing too ?
Our useless idiot politicians apparently doing such a great job they even get the time to do a little gardening around leinster house. Everything must be honky dory with running the country. What about a few window boxes mehole? A swing maybe? (Opportunities there, ssshhh)
@Adrian: chill man .. no work needed just dont cut the grass and all will be good
Have wild flowers in my garden planted front and back. Intended to cut grass few weeks ago and clover had come up covered in small bumble bees, regularly scorned by some neighbours gir growing weeds! Wish people cared more
Will the bees get rid of the Rats
They should send the Primary School Kids in to do it they had an Amazing Display of Recycled Plastics and other Biodegradable stuff including Bee Hotels at Bloom Very Impressive
At least they won’t be short of manure given the amount of bullsh*t emanating from within.
The lawn should be kept but wild sections could be put in areas of the lawn. Otherwise it will look like a scruffy grass for the winter months.
@Martin Sinnott: wildflower meadows are cut a number of times during the year so no, it won’t look scruffy during the winter “Following the last cut of the season, all meadows can be kept mown to keep the grass short and neat through the winter is desired. Any cut that produces substantial clippings should have the clippings removed and composted.”
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=446
If by “bee box” they mean insect hotel then please can I just interject here as your beekeeping friend —- please don’t buy those things. I know they’re pretty & help make you feel you’re helping the environment but the sad fact is that they’re incredibly wasteful. Solitary kinds of bees only use them for one year & once used they won’t be inhabited again. It’s a much better idea to make simple ones yourself, to be honest.
I think that they should put a few Cows with a number of calves sucking them in there, — wild flowers? , bee boxes? What are they on about? Cows and calves and a few goats , yes, that would be good.
What about the poor Rats, surely they are flora and fauna? :)
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