The money tree Christmas display costs city €300,000
Related Articles
DUBLIN's controversial environmentally-friendly Christmas tree cost more than €300,000, it emerged yesterday.
Despite calls to bring back a traditional tree, the city council plans to have the new hi-tech model twinkling on O'Connell Street for the next decade.
The €300,000 figure includes the cost of purchasing and importing the tree, made entirely of energy efficient lights, from France and erecting it.
And, over the two-month festive period more than €1,200 will be spent on operating its 100,000 different-sized bulbs. This equates to about €20 a day.
Last year just €16.70 a day was spent to run 1,000 lights on a natural evergreen tree.
A Dublin City council spokeswoman said she could not give an exact figure for the cost of the evergreen tree on O'Connell Street last year but she said that €125,000 was spent on a series of trees erected around the city.
The spokeswoman said that the council will not be bowing to public pressure to re-instate an evergreen tree. "We will be using the tree for the next 10 years and we will review the situation then."
Labour city councillor Dermot Lacey yesterday said he was "stunned" at the tree's price.
Funded by the Dublin City Business Improvement District (BID) in partnership with Dublin City Council and the Dublin City Business Association (DCBA), the 60ft installation is a departure from the traditional natural evergreen.
- Patricia McDonagh
