Almost €10,000 a week to be spent on playgrounds in Laois

Laois County Council have budgeted to spend almost €10,000 a week next year to maintain playgrounds across the county.

The Council passed its €140 million budget for 2027 earlier this week. Within the budget for next year, €486,600 has been allocated for playgrounds which is slightly up from the 2026 allocation of €477,000.

Director of Services at Laois County Council, Simon Walton, explained that the Council now operates 26 playgrounds in the county, which is a “significant number of playgrounds to be maintained.”

Mr Walton noted that this figure encompasses not just the maintenance of playgrounds but other costs such as insurance and staff. It also includes the replacement of equipment.

He argued that the total amount of funding is “directly aligned” with the number of playgrounds managed by the Council.

Cllr Barry Walsh welcomed the moderate increase for playgrounds in the budget, particularly after the opening of the new playground in Ballyroan.

“That money is well worth spending. It’s after transforming the area in Ballyroan,” the Portlaoise Councillor said.

In September, a number of safety issues were highlighted regarding some playgrounds in Laois, especially in Stradbally and Timahoe.

Cllr Vivienne Phelan said a number of worried parents voiced their concerns to her regarding the upkeep and safety of playgrounds in Laois after two frightening incidents with children during the summer.

She said that a young child ran out onto the road at the Stradbally playground due to a gap between the gate and the fence.

Cllr Phelan said that other issues were brought to her attention by parents, such as broken equipment and the overgrowth of vegetation and briars.

She added that there is also an issue with the cleanliness of the toilets in the Stradbally playground and argued that an industrial deep cleaning is needed at this stage.

The Fine Gael Councillor called for Laois County Council to complete a comprehensive safety audit of all playgrounds in the county and for the results to be presented to local councillors and the necessary works carried out.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme