Violent attacks on tourists underline need for ‘ceaseless efforts’ to boost Garda numbers, says Donohoe

Recent violent attacks on tourists visiting Dublin city underline the need for “ceaseless efforts” in strengthening Garda numbers in the area, Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe has said.

He was reflecting on the issue during the opening of a redeveloped park in his Dublin Central constituency, not far from where a number of tourists were recently attacked.

“It is just a reminder to me that our efforts have to be ceaseless in providing the gardaí with the support they need and maintaining a very visible presence in the inner city,” Mr Donohoe said.

“I believe we have made big progress in how we police the inner city and made big progress in the presence of An Garda Síochána. But we still have more to do and that is why the Government is putting such focus on recruitment plans for An Garda Síochána and it is why Store Street continues to be a vital Garda station for Dublin.”

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The Minister has advocated for ongoing investment in the area, a drive which began at the height of the Kinahan-Hutch feud.

The refurbished Diamond Park is on the site of former tenement buildings on the corner of Lower Gardiner Street, which were knocked down and replaced by a previous park in the late 1980s. The site now includes a sprawling grass area, a football pitch, a playground and basketball and table tennis facilities.

[ Far more people find Dublin unsafe now than in 2016, surveys show ]

The redevelopment is part of a broader effort by Dublin City Council to improve parks close to social housing complexes and student accommodation. Parents and children were on hand for the opening, with Lord Mayor of Dublin Daithí de Róiste urging them to embrace the facility.

Regarding recent violent and antisocial incidents in the area, Mr de Róiste acknowledged that “Dublin is always going to have its problems” and said he has been vocal in calling for greater garda visibility, which was already happening.

“We’re never going to eradicate [instances of public disorder] but what we need to do is talk about safety in the city and perceptions of safety. I feel safe in Dublin. When I go out walking, I feel safe, but I know that there’s lots of people that don’t feel safe.”

The Lord Mayor noted that more than 40,000 US tourists were expected in Dublin in the next couple of weeks for the American football match between the University of Notre Dame and Navy Academy. He said he would urge them to visit and to feel secure.

“This for me is not just a tourist problem. It’s for everybody that uses the city and it’s for everybody who calls the city home.”

Labour councillor Joe Costello has seen the city evolve from his home and office on nearby Seán McDermott Street, a short distance from the park, since he began his political career in 1989.

After spells as a local representative, a TD and a minister, Mr Costello is to retire on Wednesday. In his time, he has witnessed a capital once free of drugs becoming troubled by heroin and cocaine use. He said greater levels of drug treatment will be required in the future.

“It’s been a very difficult period of time over the feuding gangs and the drugs and so on but nevertheless there has been an enormous amount of progress made in the heart of the city,” he said. “In a way when Covid came along, it closed down the city. Now we’re trying to get the footfall back.”

As with other local politicians, Mr Costello noted the need to bolster Garda numbers which had fallen in recent years, but also to inject life and investment into the area through infrastructure and services.

“You do need to recover the heart of the city,” he said. “There is a lot of dereliction in the heart of the city; the area around O’Connell Street hasn’t been built up, it has been dead around Moore Street and therefore people don’t see a thriving city.”