Dublin Mayor aims to target open drug dealing and homelessness in city

Dublin Lord Mayor Alison Gilliland has identified open drug dealing and homelessness as "high-level" issues on the streets of the city centre to be tackled by the Garda and Dublin City Council as well as substance abuse and homelessness agencies.

Cllr Gilliland said she had listened to concerns being expressed about Dublin city – which have centred on violent attacks and anti-social behaviour – and aimed to address the concerns via the Dublin City High Level Street Issues Group, which she plans to chair.

The move follows the criticism of conditions in the city centre in the wake of the attack on Olympian Jack Woolley last month.

Local councillors, including independents Christy Burke and Mannix Flynn, complained of a worsening violent and menacing environment in the city centre since the onset of the pandemic.

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However, the Republic’s crime data and Garda sources suggest crime in Dublin – including violent assault and public disorder – declined very significantly last year.

While the high-level group is not new, Cllr Gilliland believed it could be used to co-ordinate efforts and ensure those who were homeless or were abusing substances on the streets could be reached and assisted.

“I’ve had various meetings regarding the public’s experiences on our city-centre streets and this is a response to their concerns,” she said. “I don’t believe in reinventing the wheel but rather using structures, such as this high-level group, that are already in place and building on work already done.”

She added it was her “responsibility” as Lord Mayor to co-ordinate the response of statutory agencies charged with ensuring the city centre was safe and accessible.

The high-level group would “strive for a co-ordinated public-health approach to those engaging in on-street substance misuse and a holistic case-management approach to those who find themselves homeless” and living on the streets.

The group is made up of senior officials from Dublin City Council, An Garda Síochána, Dublin Regional Homeless Executive, the Health Service Executive and the Ana Liffey Drug Project.

It was established in 2011 following the Better City for All report focused on address anti-social behaviour in the city.