To ask the Minister for Infrastructure to detail the amount his Department has spent on (i) planting trees; and (ii) maintaining trees, in each of the last three years.

Tree planting is usually carried out by my Department for one of two reasons; as part of a major works scheme, where it will be incorporated into the overall scheme costs; or as a remediation measure where it has been necessary to remove existing trees for safety reasons. The cost of remedial tree planting would be incorporated into general tree maintenance expenditure.

Expenditure specifically incurred on planting trees and maintaining trees is not recorded separately in my Department’s finance system, however I can provide expenditure on Grass Cutting, Weed Control and Tree Maintenance for the past three completed financial years from 2020-21 to 2022-23 in Table 1 below.

Table 1