Dublin City Taskforce calls for 1,000 new Gardai as congestion charge ruled out
The task force, led by An Post CEO David McRedmond, was asked to look at the issues in the city and how to improve the “public realm, safety, and experience”
The Dublin City taskforce has called for 1,000 new Gardaí for Dublin city to tackle crime and improve safety in the capital.
The coalition has ruled out the idea of a congestion charge for Dublin, but Taoiseach Simon Harris added that he has an “open mind” to the prospect of a “tourism tax”.
The task force, led by An Post CEO David McRedmond, was asked to look at the issues in the city and how to improve the “public realm, safety, and experience”. A total of 10 recommendations, or “big moves,” as the report refers to them, were made.
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These include increasing the number of Gardaí in Dublin 1 and Dublin 2 by 1,000 over the next three years in a bid to “bring us up to a European average for a city centre”. It was suggested that Gardaí could be removed from “non-Garda issues”, such as “customs and the port,” to increase the numbers on the beat.
Other recommendations included the State purchasing suitable sites that could be redeveloped for high-density residential projects and a “grant aid system” for the HSE, An Garda Síochána, schools and Dublin City Council to receive funding for the purchase or lease of residential stock for their employees.
There were also calls for upgraded CCTV in “problematic areas,” including laneways and public spaces, and for legislation to facilitate “real-time monitoring” of these cameras.
The taskforce also called for the enactment of legislation prohibiting social media platforms from facilitating the circulation of videos, images, or live streaming Gardaí engaged in their work without consent and the relocation of O’Connell Street Garda stations to the General Post Office (GPO).
Under the heading of “deliver more targeted and better-located services for vulnerable populations in the city centre”, the taskforce called for a review of the International Protection Office’s (IPO) processing facility on Mount Street and suggested “consideration for relocation and integration with health services”. It also suggested new “bye-laws to regulate on-street charitable services such as soup kitchens and other services” and “mobile supervised drug consumption services”.
As previously reported, there were suggestions that the GPO could be used to relocate RTÉ, as a museum or for a State agency HQ. The taskforce also called for a “high-level market team to own and manage the brand of Dublin”. The plan would require between €750 million and €1 billion in one-off spending and funding of up to €150 million per year.
The report said that levies such as “tourist tax, congestion charges and increased vacant property levies” could be funding mechanisms for the plan, but Mr McRedmond stressed it was not suggested in the report they should be introduced.
At the launch, the Taoiseach, Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien and Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman all stated they were not backing a congestion charge. Mr Harris said: “I'm against a congestion charge. I think I have an open mind on a tourism tax. I want to know what the sector thinks. I want to consult on it. I'm conscious that when we go abroad to many cities as tourists, we may end up experiencing [one]. I think that merits some consideration.”
Mr Harris also said the amount of money that may be required to fund the report was “manageable”.
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