merrion street

Tom Hayes, TD, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine presented the Association of Landscape Contractors of Ireland (ALCI) Awards today at a function in Dublin.

The ALCI Awards celebrate and recognise outstanding work carried out by the Association’s members North and South and span all sectors of the Irish landscaping industry from small private gardens to sports ground construction and large scale maintenance contracts. The Awards are judged by independent panels in both ALCI regions.

In his keynote address at the awards ceremony, the Minister outlined how those involved in landscaping “had refocused their business to deal with the change in the economic situation and had put their enterprises on a more sustainable footing for the years ahead”.

The Minister added that “with an improvement in growth in the economy and increased consumer confidence, the landscaping industry should see an increased demand in 2014 for its services”.

Citing the outbreak of Chalara fraxinea or “Ash Dieback” in Ireland and the recent identification of the first case of this disease on a native Irish tree the Minister highlighted the risks posed by plant pests and diseases and consequently on the trade in plants. He stated that “plants should only be purchased from a reliable source with proper documentation and traceability as this is the country’s main line of defence against plant health threats.”

In conclusion, the Minister said “Good quality workmanship and landscape design will be recognised by all that witness it from those that use a facility every day, to client customers and one–off visitors.”