March 4th, 2020
South Dublin County Council has begun remedial works in a
bid to restore a small but prominent wetland area in Tallaght that was destroyed
following a Council mix-up last September.
Last September, the Council came under fire after silt dredged
from the lake in Sean Walsh Memorial Park was dumped on a wetland area in a
small corner of the park.
The former waste ground regenerated naturally over many years and was
bursting with wildlife including the protected smooth newt and common frog, as well as the
critically endangered European eel.
The Council said that it was responsible for the dumping of material on
the site as “part of a planned process” to remove silt and rubbish from
man-made lakes in the park.
Internal documents released to Noteworthy last November under Access to Information on the Environmental regulations, however, show that it was never the council’s intention to spread the excavated material.
Instead, miscommunication with a contracting company, hired for over €20,500 to carry out works in the park, lead to the mounding of the soil at the wetland site.
The council has now created a number of small ephemeral ponds at the edge
of the former wetlands to provide breeding areas for the remaining common
frogs.
According to Collie Ennis, a science officer with the
Herpetological Society of Ireland (HSI) who discovered the wetland area, the move
is a “very important start to the restoration process”.
Mr Ennis found the site almost one year ago while surveying
Tallaght for potential pond sites as part of a project to link up existing
populations of urban amphibians in the area.
“It allows the surviving adults to breed and keep the
population healthy while further restoration takes place,” added Mr Ennis who
has previously described the site as a “little miracle”.
“While the numbers of adult breeding frogs are down on last
year, I’m optimistic that this moves us towards Seán Walsh Park continuing as
an amazing resource for local people and wildlife,” he added.
Green Party representatives in the Tallaght area also
welcomed the restoration works, with local Councillor Liam Sinclair pleased that
the Council has “shown that they’re listening to the community”.
“That they got this work done quickly, before the important Spring breeding season, demonstrates clearly that they understand how important this was to the people of Tallaght and South Dublin County,” he added.
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