Traffic restrictions and road closures will be in place across parts of Dublin until Friday afternoon as Ireland hosts a series of European Union Presidency events.
Gardaí have advised motorists to expect delays around the city as delegates travel between meetings taking place at Dublin Castle, the InterContinental Hotel and Clayton Hotel in Ballsbridge, as well as Dublin Port.
The security operation will involve temporary parking restrictions, rolling road closures and other traffic measures while official delegations are being escorted between venues.
Parking restrictions are already in place in Ballsbridge and will continue throughout Thursday, with further restrictions on Friday morning between 8am and 9am.
Motorists can also expect temporary traffic restrictions in the south city centre between Ballsbridge and Dublin Castle. Roads expected to be affected include Merrion Road, Mespil Road, Leeson Street, St Stephen's Green, Kevin Street, Bride Street and surrounding areas. These routes are also expected to experience disruption on Thursday evening.
Additional road closures and traffic restrictions are planned between 4.30pm and 6.30pm on Thursday as delegates travel between Dublin Castle and Dublin Port. Roads likely to be impacted include Bride Street, Kevin Street, St Stephen's Green, Merrion Street, Pearse Street, Cardiff Lane, North Wall Quay, Macken Street, Northumberland Road and Merrion Road.
Meanwhile, Castle Street, Ship Street Little and Ship Street Great, which surround Dublin Castle, will remain closed to both traffic and pedestrians for the duration of Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which runs until 31 December.
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Gardaí said they are working to ensure the policing and security operation is proportionate while protecting public safety. They are also liaising with Transport Infrastructure Ireland and public transport operators in an effort to minimise disruption across the transport network.
They said: "Our objective is to continue to share as much information with the public where necessary as soon as we are in a position to do so. We ask members of the public to heed the advice and instructions of gardaí, and we thank them for their co-operation."
Gardaí added that operational plans may change at short notice for security or operational reasons and said real-time updates will be shared through the Garda website and social media channels.
Restrictions on the use of drones around venues hosting EU Presidency events also remain in place.
