Minister urged to reissue community gardens survey to local authorities after lack of engagement

Community Gardens Ireland have written to Minister James Browne to call for a new survey of local authorities to be issued following a lack of engagement from local authorities.

In 2024, a survey was issued to the chief executives of local authorities from Minister Pippa Hackett under Circular 0001/2024 inviting each local authority to complete a survey on their provision of allotments and community gardens.

The results from the 2024 survey, released under a Freedom of Information request to Jennifer Whitmore TD in May 2025, showed that only 16 of 31 local authorities responded to the survey, with no local authority in Dublin completing the survey.

The action for the completion of the 2024 survey was to form part of a broader campaign to encourage consumption of fresh local produce and it aligned with the previous Programme for Government commitment to work with local authorities and local communities to develop community gardens, allotments, and urban orchards. The current Programme for Government has omitted any mention of community gardens, allotments or urban orchards, despite a campaign on this by Community Gardens Ireland.

Co-chairperson of Community Gardens Ireland Dónal McCormack said: “This is hugely disappointing to see that almost half of local authorities have failed to complete a short survey on their provision of allotments and community gardens in Ireland. The previous survey that was completed in 2018 showed that eight local authorities did not provide any allotments or community gardens, and that there were 2500 allotments and community gardens in Ireland – which is one of the lowest levels of provision in Europe. Denmark, with a similar population to Ireland, has 40,000 community growing spaces.

At the Community Gardens Ireland Spring Gathering in April 2025, President Higgins highlighted in a message his hope that the recent formalisation of the role and value of community gardens in Irish law marks a turning point. Unfortunately, a lack of engagement from local authorities and government shows that this is turning in the wrong direction.”

Molly Garvey, co-chairperson of Community Gardens Ireland, agreed: “Local authorities in Dublin have previously been champions of community growing, so it is unacceptable that none of the four local authorities in Dublin have completed this survey.

Our hope was to see a much-needed increase in the number of allotments and community gardens – we cannot know this is the case until this survey is completed. The survey must be reissued following the failed survey in 2024 and we have written to Minister Browne to issue a circular to put in place a new survey immediately, and to ensure that all local authorities complete this.”

On Thursday 29^th May and Sunday 1^st June, Community Gardens Ireland will present at the Garden Stage at Bord Bia Bloom in Phoenix Park.

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For more details, contact info@cgireland.org

Note 1: Circular 0001/2024 is available here:

Note 2: Full details of County Council Survey from Freedom of Information, May 2025