Minister Joe O’Brien encourages Fingal residents to contribute to public consultation on draft Fingal Tree Strategy

16th March, 2021

“Forest of Fingal” strategy was launched as a result of successful motion from Minister O’Brien during his time on Fingal County Council

Fingal County Council’s public consultation on its draft tree strategy, “The Forest of Fingal” will be closing on March 28th. The strategy is intended to safeguard some of Fingal’s most valuable natural assets; to protect and enhance Fingal’s trees, to maximise both the benefits they offer and the character they bring to the county, and to ensure a greener and healthier Fingal for now and future generations.

Minister Joe O’Brien strongly encouraged Fingal residents to take part in the survey and share their thoughts on the importance of trees in their communities:

“Trees are one of my favourite parts of nature and one of our most important connections with the natural world. They give us the air we breathe, they foster biodiversity, they have a key role in the battle against climate change, they improve the appearance and quality of life in our towns and villages, and they have offered us sanctuary especially over the last year. Planting trees together is a great way to build community spirit and cohesion.”

“It’s really important that we let Fingal County Council know how important trees are to us and that we all provide feedback on the draft strategy, as it will define the future of trees in Fingal for many years to come. In my submission to the Fingal Tree strategy I will be emphasising three things:

The need to dramatically increase tree cover in Fingal. We have a very low rate of tree coverage in the county at about 6% and the strategy needs to set ambitious annual targets to get us to the recommended 15% by 2030.
We need to really cherish our urban trees and seek out appropriate opportunities to bring more trees into our public spaces in town and villages across Fingal.
As Minister for Community Development I feel it’s especially important to engage communities in the process of planting trees all across the county to help us reach the target of 15% tree coverage.”

“Check out the public consultation on Fingal’s website and make your voice heard before the 28^th of March.”

Notes for the editor:

The public consultation is accessible on the Fingal County Council website at the following link: https://consult.fingal.ie/en/consultation/forest-fingal-tree-strategy-fingal
The consultation will close at 5pm on the 28^th of March 2021
Information on Joe O’Brien’s successful motion to initiate the review of the strategy: https://joefingalgreen.com/2019/07/09/review-of-fingals-tree-strategy/

Tags: Fingal County Council