Only one in three people feel safe in Dublin city centre at night, a survey conducted on behalf of Dublin City Council has revealed. The Citizen Survey Report on Night-Time Economy reports that 63 per cent of respondents would like to see better safety at night, while 55 per cent are in favour of improved night-time transport.
The survey also revealed that 78 per cent of people think that Dublin’s nightlife is worse than cities they have been to abroad. Berlin was ranked best for nightlife, according to the survey, followed by London, Amsterdam, and Barcelona.
Two out of three people surveyed said they believe that more night-time options are needed in Dublin, while only 16 per cent said they believe good public transport is available between midnight and 6am.
Responding to the survey, the Licenced Vintners Association (LVA) has said findings show the need to advance the recommendations by the Dublin Taskforce and for the Government to bring forward their proposed Intoxicating Liquor Bill.
The LVA says measures included in the Dublin Taskforce Recommendations would specifically help address these public concerns, such as the provision of an additional 1,000 Gardaí for Dublin and the development of an improved Dublin City Centre Transport Plan. However, the body said that despite the recommendations having been published 6 months ago, “little action has been taken to make these a reality.”
“These survey results show the concerns of the public match the issues highlighted by Dublin publicans and others operating across the city,” said Donall O’Keeffe, CEO of the LVA. “We need to make our streets safer and we need to provide better transport at night. It should be acknowledged that Garda visibility in town has started to improve recently, but for public perceptions and concerns to be addressed that presence needs to sustained for the night-time economy in the long term.
“Monday will mark six months since the Dublin Taskforce published their recommendations, yet there has been little to no progress turning these commitments into reality. The Government went out of their way to emphasise that meaningful action couldn’t be taken to address the issues affecting Dublin until the Taskforce had reported. It’s now been half a year since that process was complete, so what’s their current excuse?”
6 out 10 want more night-time options where they live, while 4 out of 5 people (79%) say the night-time economy is important to the overall Dublin economy. Seven out of 10 believe the night-time economy makes a positive contribution to Dublin’s cultural life.
“Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in Government promised to help fix the night-time economy by modernising the licensing laws. They could do that and help improve the night-time options available to the public if they simply followed through on what they started and enacted their promised ‘Intoxicating Liquor Bill’. We were informed that legislation was ready to be published by Easter 2024, yet one year later it is yet to see the light of day,” the LVA added.
“As the survey shows, the vast majority of people believe the night-time economy makes a positive contribution to Dublin’s cultural life. The Government’s continued inaction on these reforms indicate this isn’t a view they share. We are calling on them to be fair and set out their clear intentions about when they will advance these promised licensing reforms, clearing up the uncertainty and enabling improved night time options,” Mr. O’Keeffe concluded.