Green councillor welcomes €230,000 spend on Christmas trees for Cork city

Cork City Council has spent a quarter of a million euro on Christmas trees in the last three years.

The council has told The Echo that it cannot reveal the cost per tree as that is “commercially sensitive information”.

Figures provided by the council show that a total of €229,642 has been spent on the festive trees since 2023.

The total figure comprises €77,438.84 in 2023, rising slightly to €80,096.96 in 2024 and then falling to €72,106.56 in 2025, including vat.

When asked where each tree was, the cost of each particular tree, who supplied each tree, and if funding was provided to communities to source their own tree a spokesperson responded: “The cost of each tree is commercially sensitive information.” 

They said that all the trees are provided by Roundwood Timber Ltd, and no funding was provided to anyone to source their own tree.

Ahead of Christmas 2022, Cork City Council said it was installing 60 Christmas trees across the city centre, suburbs, towns and villages, suggesting an average cost of around €1,275 per tree per year.

Green party councillor Oliver Moran told The Echo that he was supportive of this spend: “A Christmas tree is something that brightens every neighbourhood where one is installed. In fact, there’s competition between neighbourhoods to get one, with Ballyvolane receiving its first tree last year and celebrating it with a party."

He concluded: “My feeling about these things is not to be a Scrooge. It’s Christmas, everyone wants cheer. A brightly lit tree is something everyone can enjoy and gather around in the spirit of the season.”