Plan to move €440,000 air-purifying ‘robo-trees’ from Cork to Dublin is axed

Devices designed to clear pollutants are shelved over concerns they could be a fire hazard or a target for antisocial b

A plan to move two “robo-trees” which cost the taxpayer over €400,000 were abandoned over concerns they could be a fire hazard or used as a

climbing frame by antisocial youths.

Officially called “CityTrees”, the constructions were installed in two locations in Cork city in August 2021 to clean pollutants from the air. They have been put in storage by the council with no firm plans for their future.

Overall costs of the project are now more than €440,000 — and a proposal for them to be moved to Dublin’s Connolly Station has been permanently derailed.

People of Cork town enduring their second boil-water notice this year – ‘it’s a disgrace’
‘You’re a bad thief’ Cork judge tells man named Justice with 61 previous convictions
Uisce Éireann places four more counties under hosepipe bans this weekend as supplies at critical levels

However, they were removed from both locations in Cork earlier this summer, after costing over €17,000 to maintain annually and after a report from UCC found the devices failed to provide conclusive proof of improved air quality.

The trees were intended to filter the air and absorb particulate matter from the air via moss filters. They came equipped with in-built sensors which were used to collate air quality data for analysis.

Emails released under the Freedom of Information Act detail how Irish Rail did not believe it was workable to have them indoors because too many of their components were wooden.

In discussions with the manufacturer, the rail operator said all furniture in Ireland needed to meet certain standards and that the timber would need to be replaced.

The manufacturer responded saying: “As the CityTrees are made from timber, it’s not really possible to replace it without building completely new products (also the inner frame is made of timber).”

The manufacturer suggested that a mini-fire extinguisher could be placed beside them or to have a fire protection paint applied to them.

Irish Rail also asked if the robo-trees were “anti-climb”, saying the train stations were a “notorious hot-spot for vandalism and anti-social behaviour”.

The manufacturers said they could not guarantee they were “100pc resistant towards unusual use”, but they had no experience of people climbing them.

“The wooden cladding is made as good as possible [to be] unfriendly to climb.

“We have to consider anti-dove spikes [to keep birds away], so that would decrease the risk of climbers?”

Irish Rail were also worried about how the two €183,000 units would be moved, given their size, and wondered whether they could be taken apart.

By February, Cork City Council still believed the plan for the move was going ahead, asking if Irish Rail could take them by the end of the month.

An email from the council to Irish Rail said: “We are currently preparing a press release. Are you happy for us to say the walls are being transported to Irish Rail where they will be trialled in a train station platform setting?”

However, their hopes were dashed soon after when Irish Rail’s environmental and sustainability manager said they would not be taken due to “safety concerns”.

The email said Irish Rail had been in touch with the manufacturers about making them safe for indoor use, but this was “not feasible”.

“While the supplier suggested fire extinguishers or fire-retardant paint as mitigation measures, these do not meet fire safety regulations,” an official wrote.

“There is a strict prohibition on wooden elements in high-traffic railway stations.”

Annual maintenance costs for the eco-friendly moss walls were around €17,000, with upkeep of the machines ending this year.

Asked about plans for the robo-trees, a Cork City Council spokesman remained tight-lipped, saying they would not provide total costs for the abandoned scheme and wouldn’t discuss what plans they now had for their reuse.