OPW Engagement with the Community

May 2023

OPW engagement at public meetings to date.

  • Attended by OPW staff, members of the living and working community and local representatives.

  • At the 1st public meeting on 1st December 2022., the local representatives and the community asked for subsequent meetings every 2nd month and OPW undertook to hold quarterly meetings going forward.

  • The 2nd public was not scheduled by the OPW until 5th May 2023.

  • There are no further public meetings scheduled.

  • Will the OPW keep its promise to meet its most important stakeholders - the community - every quarter?

How can these public meetings be improved on by the OPW?

  • by scheduling and holding quarterly meetings which in line with other communities and the OPW commitment made in December 2022 to local representatives and the community.

  • by maintaining a community register and advising the register by email and other means of public meetings and other events.

  • by giving adequate / timely notice and placing notices on the OPW Iveagh Gardens website and on all entrance pillars. Currently notices are only put up on the gates 2 weeks in advance and very often obscured..

  • by having an agenda with community input and minutes.

  • by inviting participation from local representatives participation coupled with local residents and business workers.

OPW staff shortages often leads to the gardens being closed 1 to 1.5 hours before the published times.

The official closing time is already very early - long before dusk - due to staff shortages who are responsible for closing both Iveagh Gardens and St. Stephens Green.

The opening and closing times per the OPW notice boards in the gardens are listed below

  • Monday – Saturday: 8am opening.

  • Sunday and Bank Holidays: 10am opening.

  • Closing times are approximate

    • Dec & Jan 3.30 pm

    • Feb & Nov: 4.00 pm

    • Mar & Oct 6.00 pm

    • Apr-Sep 7.30 pm

If the OPW staff shortages can be fixed

  • can opening times be earlier and

  • can closing times be extended especially in the summer months ?

Staff shortages are not a new problem and the OPW needs to ask

  • what can they do to solve the staff shortages and thereby prevent the gardens closing early?

  • can the official closing times be clearer and adhered to so the community can rely on them and not be disappointed to find the gardens have closed early?

    Questions

    • the gardens close 60 to 150 minutes before DCC parks. Why?

    • the opening and closing times are not displayed outside the gates?

    • the time are oy of synch between websites and noticeboards. can that be fixed.

    • google have the wrong closing times, can the OPW advise Google of the correct closing times.

    • Can the closing times be set out by month - like DCC do - or such shorter periods as needed and not grouped into quarters or bi monthly periods?

Iveagh Gardens mid-summer events last 52 days which is too long.

  • The main summer 2023 events in Iveagh lasted 52 days in mid - summer from 6th June to the 3rd August

    • Taste 6th - 23th Jun 2023 - 18 days

    • Aiken Music & Aiken Comedy Festival 1st Jul to 3rd Aug - 34 days

    Of which

    • 18 days were show days

    • 34 days were either build (14), take down (9) or idle (11) days which is excessive.

    • On average 50% of the gardens was unavailable to the public.

Why are the Clonmel Street and NCH gates closed on most of the 52 days?

  • Per the OPW 46% and 13% of visitors enter the Gardens through the Clonmel Street and NCH gates.

One of the Friends of Iveagh Gardens not able to walk to the NCH for a concert when Iveagh Gardens was on a “idle” day.

Solution remove barriers on “non show” days and put back on “show” days.

How can the mid-summer events be reduced in days?

  • Work with event organisers to significantly reduce the build, take down and idle days.

  • Charge more per day.

How can the Clonmel and NCH gates be kept open most days

  • The OPW should require each event to put a moveable heras fence on the internal perimeter of Iveagh Gardens to allow a walk an the internal perimeter from Clonmel Street, Hatch Street onto the NCH. This would facilitate community walkers to get from one side of the gardens to another on most days.

  • With more security and fencing these gates could be been kept open for most of the 52 days - with some or no time restrictions. The community believes facilitating entrance through all gates and having an inner perimeter walk-thru would be a significant step in the right direction.

Perimeter walk suggested in yellow with fencing - the concept of walkway is narrower than the yellow line drawn. It might not be feasible to go between Clonmel Street to NCH on the left. 

Possible solution provide more security and create separation with heras fencing on as many of the 34 ”non show“ days.

Improved Infrastructure

  • Over the last 3 years the two fountains have worked very infrequently. Multiple repair attempts have not succeeded. Why?

  • The cascade is not turned on in the morning due to cost reasons. Why?

  • There is a shortage of seating with only 15 benches with 2 pax per bench = 30 persons .

  • There are no segregated bins. Why?

  • The events segregate waste for customers but co-mingle them in trucks when collected. Why?

  • The gardens bins are left uncovered attracting foxes at night and seagulls during the day resulting in litter strewn all over the place.

  • any attempts to interfere with the integrity of the garden or an plans to demolish structures within the garden need to be very carefully considered in conjunction with its biggest stakeholders the community.

Are there potential infrastructure solutions?

  • The OPW could prioritise and provide resources and budget to:

    • fix the two fountains in a defined timescale. Repairs have been ongoing for circa 2-3 years. Can they be fixed within say 3 months?

    • keep the cascade turned on during opening hours.

    • provide adequate seating - the park could do with another 15+ benches.

    • the OPW and our community should be leading by example and should endeavour to provide segregated bins for every day public use.

    • ensure event waste collections are segregated. OPW policies state “only events that demonstrate a deliberate integration of all aspects of sustainability (economic, cultural, social, environmental), as applicable to a major outdoor events in a historic landscape setting will be considered”.

    • provide bins with covers and/or reduced apertures.

    • proactively include - before submission - the community in consultations to demolish or add structures to the gardens if planning permission is needed.

Improving overall communication

  • OPW event and meeting notices are put up by the OPW 2 weeks in advance which is insufficient time.

  • the notices are undersized and put on open gates obscuring them rather than on facing pillars. Putting notices on open gates is bad practice.

  • the event closures are not put on the OPW Iveagh Gardens website and are contradicted by maps and opening times which are not informative /correct.

  • the gates needs to be staffed by OPW with informed staff members or a 3rd party during events to advise visitors of the closure and their alternatives. During events the gates are only attended by security staff who keep non ticket holders out and ticket holders in an are not sufficiently informative for visitors, tourists, etc.

  • there needs to be meaningful tri-party engagement between the OPW, the event organisers and the community for large events.

  • community meetings should have notices, an agenda and minutes.

Suggested Fixes

  • put notices up say minimum 5 weeks before meetings and events.

  • put up properly sized notices and place them where they can be easily seen by the community and visitors. Do not put them on open gates. Maybe follow standards of planning notices.

  • put notices for meetings and events on the website so national and international visitors are informed.

  • staff the gates with OPW staff who are informed of the access rules and alternatives during events.

  • meet the community more frequently pre, during and post events and take our input. The OPW event policies state “Our neighbours and stakeholders are a priority for the OPW. The promotor must engage with all relevant stakeholders and the local community in a meaningful way and demonstrate a high level of commitment to addressing their reasonable needs.” There was little evidence of this engagement in 2023 and no facilitation by the OPW to organise this engagement when requested.

  • supply a meeting agenda and minutes and invite the participation of local representatives and anyone on a community register.

Call to Action deadline 30.09.2023 extended to 06.10.2023.

  • The OPW have invited the public to submit their observations on their events schedules .

  • If you wish to make observation you should got to the Call to Action Page for further details

Get In Touch & General Queries

  • Please submit any enquiries through our Contact page.