Introducing a Directly Elected Mayor for all of Dublin is vital to fix the city’s problems and promote the capital, according to a leading city business group. Dublin Chamber has published new research on how people from abroad view the city.
The capital’s business group has called for 750 extra gardaí to be added to the city’s streets. A survey of almost 1,000 non-nationals living here has found less than a third think Dublin is a safe city.
The research by Dublin Chamber also highlighted problems with the health service, transport and childcare. The organisation’s Graeme McQueen said Garda numbers needed to be increased while the design and lighting of public areas should be improved.
Public transport, health services, childcare and the weather were also highlighted as challenges. While less than 1 in 3 believed Dublin was a safe city – prompting calls for an extra 750 gardaí to be added to the city’s streets;
Dublin Chamber says a mayor should be elected, that has real powers and covers the entire country, overseeing projects and tackling problems. More positively most found Dublin to be a beautiful city, that has a good environment for business.
He said: “One of the most disappointing angles to come out of the survey is that safety is a bigger issue than we thought it was. One in seven people was all that thoght DUblin was safe – that’s not where we want it to be. “Dublin is a safe city – we need to get that message across.”
