James Joyce understood the DNA of our capital city better than anyone. In Dubliners, each story builds to an expected climax only for his characters to collapse and fail in the melancholic bathos of the city. Joyce knew that Dublin had more than its fair share of cynics, naysayers, nitpickers, know-alls and hurlers on the ditch. It explains why so many plans for Dublin are never executed, and why so many ambitions for the city go unrealised.
Escaping the gravitational pull of Dubliners’ inertia is not easy. But the Dublin taskforce’s recent report on how to rejuvenate the inner city tries. We do not think it is audacious to suggest that Dublin 1 can become one of Europe’s most exciting neighbourhoods. Getting there requires not just a list of recommendations – the rhetoricians of The Irish Times can do that – but consensus among professionals with competing motivations, economic limitations and priorities. The taskforce has brought together different stakeholders to find a version of the city that works for everyone.
The empty, vacant and derelict property of the neighbourhood is evidence of a weary city. But it is also an opportunity. We want to transform these properties into apartments for essential workers (nurses, teachers, gardaí etc), pouring light on to the streets below, making a safe and welcoming city centre. The flat complexes in Dublin 1 and 2 are set to be refurbished in 20 years; it’s not unrealistic to think it can be done in three to five years. Mothers will have dry and clean housing, with proper playgrounds and facilities for their children. Students will populate the core of the city that is – in its soul – a university town. We want more people living above shops and in high-density residential developments on main streets – cities are for living in, not visiting on the weekends.
More gardaí, city wardens and street cleaners will make Dublin feel safer. “Meanwhile use” allows underused spaces to play host to cultural events, markets, live music and restaurants. Transport links with Greater Dublin are vital. There will be tourist corridors from the main entrance points to the city, properly marketed and organised events. Imagine the Fleadh on the streets of Dublin 1.
But it is not enough to rattle off a list of ideas and aspirations. The taskforce was carefully composed of serious professionals who have to provide for Dubliners on the ground everyday – whether architects, civic planners, Garda commissioners, executives of State agencies, transport specialists or cultural directors. We know Dublin and we understand the problems and we have all been responsible for the delivery of services. The 10 “big moves”, as we call them, are rationally designed, forged through discussions and meetings with numerous stakeholders and built on compromise and collective professional experience. They have been tested by international urban advisers. They may not excite as much as the casual rhetorician’s list of fantastical ideas for the city, but they are real. This is an important distinction.
The Taoiseach has appointed a cross-departmental team, led by his department, to report before Christmas on how the report may be implemented – and we will hold whoever is in government post-election to account. Paschal Donohoe has committed to the major investment required to deliver on our recommendations. The taskforce also met local public representatives and contains ideas from all major parties, with ideas across the political spectrum.
The final two recommendations are most essential. First we need to evolve the governance of the city – only 12 per cent of expenditure on Dublin is controlled by Dublin City Council. In most cities in Europe the local authority would control about 40 per cent of expenditure. An elected mayor is a promising option (as recommended by the excellent Citizens’ Assembly) but it only matters if the mayoral office has control over the city’s budgets and a resourced team that co-ordinates across all agencies (policing, transport, health). We can learn from Britain’s excellent mayoral system by first establishing a prototype office.
The other move – to set up a properly resourced marketing function for the city – is easily glossed over. But in my experience of running businesses in the UK, United States and Ireland, marketing is the essential cohering element. There is so much good happening in Dublin but it is not professionally communicated. We need to take the narrative back from the cynical bad actors online.
So Dublin 1 can become one of the most exciting neighbourhoods in Europe … if we want. I emphasise “if we want” because it underlies the positive intent, imagination and ambition required to realise these goals. It reminds us of our commitment to the common good over individual vanities; the need for action over verbiage; and the attitude shift necessary to generate and sustain momentum. Joyce saw Dublin for what it was – a beautiful city held back by a coterie of naysayers. This needn’t be the case any more – everything can change, if we want.
David McRedmond, chief executive of An Post, was independent chair of the Dublin City Taskforce
