For a city to be safe, it needs to feel safe. This is certainly not the case in Dublin these days, with the capital seeing an alarming escalation in violent, unprovoked assaults.
Last weekend’s vicious attack on a Ukrainian actor is just another stark reminder of how dangerous Dublin city centre has become at night. The images of the young man’s facial injuries were shocking and stomach-churning.
In the harrowing incident on Eden Quay, Oleksandr Hrekov (23), after being approached by a group and asked for a cigarette, was assaulted with a broken bottle and bitten.
He had travelled to Dublin with 27 members of a theatre company from Kyiv to perform a successful sold out run of Brian Friel’s ‘Translations’ in the Abbey.
Read more: Abbey Theatre condemns attack on Ukrainian actor who was stabbed in face
It is appalling to think that a person coming from a war-torn country on a cultural endeavour could be targeted in such a cowardly and brutal manner – all within a short distance of our national theatre.
He has since returned to Ukraine and is reported to be recovering well from his ordeal. But can you imagine the lasting impression of Dublin he has taken home with him?
Sadly, for those of us living or working in the city centre, this sickening incident came as little surprise. Violent assaults – including homophobic and racially-motivated attacks – have increased dramatically.
The official figures show that this is far from anecdotal. In the Dublin South Central Garda Division, which includes popular night spots such as Temple Bar and Camden Street, violent attacks are up 60 per cent and there has been a 90 per cent rise in serious assaults.
There is also a worrying trend where innocent individuals are being targeted by groups of people and subjected to savage levels of violence – in many cases, with life-changing consequences for the victims.
It pains me to say it, but when this city goes dark, you are better off taking yourself out of it.
Much of this has to do with how Dublin city centre looks and feels. Dereliction, heavily-littered streets and poor lighting all contribute to an environment that is unsafe and unwelcoming.
For decades, the city has been in decline due to lack of leadership and neglect. Dublin City Council must take its share of the blame for its ineffective street cleaning programme.
Part of Dublin’s difficulty is that we have unelected officials making decisions for which they’ll never be held accountable. This must change.
The Government has signalled its intention to let Dubliners vote next year on whether the city should have a directly elected lord mayor with executive powers.
This would be a welcome step in the right direction. Dublin deserves an official who could lay out a vision for the future development of the city while being held to account by the public.
An elected mayor could be responsible for key policy areas, including homelessness, housing, transport and street cleaning.
To feel safer in Dublin at night, a targeted policing response will also be required. Despite the opening of a new garda station on O’Connell Street, locals have complained that this has made little difference to policing visibility on ground.
The Government must get in front of this. Making Dublin safer will require a multi-agency response involving the gardai, Dublin City Council, voluntary bodies and health agencies.
In addition, the need for a Taoiseach-led taskforce for the capital – something I have repeatedly called for – has never been more urgent.
Dublin is a city I dearly love. It is a beautiful, vibrant, friendly place that I am immensely proud of. But we cannot step away from the part of it that has problems.
* Gary Gannon is a Social Democrats TD for Dublin Central.
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