23
The GPO, one of Dublin’s most iconic buildings and indeed, a cornerstone in Irish history, is central to a host of new recommendations seeking to revitalise O’Connell Street and breathe ‘fresh air’ into the capital’s city centre.
So much has changed for the city centre during and after the Covid pandemic, followed by months of unrest last year with protests and marches against the number of asylum seekers entering the capital. This unrest culminated in the November riots and caused the Government to take a look at the issues, the lack of safety for both locals and the tourist sector, and to investigate utilising and enhancing assets of Dublin’s inner centre.
In May last the taskforce was announced by the Taoiseach and charged with making Dublin city safer and more attractive to a wider population. Dublin City Centre Taskforce was charged with looking at the city’s social and heritage infrastructures and went before the Cabinet on Tuesday last with their recommendations.
Chaired by An Post CEO David McRedmond, the group included input from Gardaí, trade union bodies, cultural organisations, the National Transport Authority (NTA) and Dublin City Council.
READ MORE IN THIS WEEKS DUBLIN GAZETTE OUT IN STORES NOW
Taoiseach Simon Harris described it an “ambitious plan” with some really good ideas and suggestions, much of which will fall on Dublin City Council as the local authority.
This week’s report before the Cabinet included ten major initiatives to revive the city centre. O’Connell Street and a re-focus on the GPO were top of the list! The iconic building of the GPO is suggested as needing a repurpose and becoming a more widely used public building. The Taskforce aimed to have plans made by Spring 2025.
Among the suggestions were that the building should be a museum, or a relocation centre for RTÉ, the national public broadcaster, or indeed, a Government Department.
Acknowledging the many facets such as policing, waste management, housing and heritage which were considered within the report, the Taskforce recommended the changes be made in steps. The full report will be published next week.
Speaking on RTÉ this week, Taoiseach Harris said it was always a personal priority of his to see Dublin city regenerated and invigorated.
“Dublin is a great city, but we also know it’s a city that has changed since Covid, as lots of capital cities have; I think it’s time now to say, what more can we do? How can we make Dublin the very best city that it is possible to be? And I’m really pleased that we brought the report to Cabinet this week.”
The full report of the taskforce is due to be published next week. It is likely the Government will set up an interdepartmental group overseen by the Department of the Taoiseach which will report back by end of 2024.
The full report of the taskforce is due to be published next week.
Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman welcomed the report coming to Cabinet. He stressed the need for Dublin City to be a live that the recommendations would make Dublin a lived-in city, that it is not just an incoming commuter workforce by day, a dormitory city. He called for more housing and amenities to support communities living in the city centre.
