‘Government inaction will condemn O’Connell Street to an even bleaker future’ says Gannon

Dublin Central Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon says he has called on Leo Varadkar to make the rejuvenation of O’Connell Street a priority when he takes over as Taoiseach later this year.

“Last week, the Taoiseach refused to commit to the establishment of a taskforce to deal with the range of problems highlighted in the recent Prime Time report, which include anti-social behaviour, open drug dealing and general dereliction,” Deputy Gannon said.

“Serious measures are required to halt the further decline of O’Connell Street and make it safer.

“This will require a multi-agency approach to deal with the underlying causes of the myriad issues affecting this historic part of the city.

“The Taoiseach implied that Dublin City Council and local community partnerships would be best placed to tackle the problems plaguing O’Connell Street – a viewpoint I strongly disagree with.

“Breathing new life into the area will require a nuanced, multi-departmental approach – one that will take strong leadership and dedication to succeed.

“The capital will have a Dublin-based Taoiseach before the end of the year.

“I am now urging Leo Varadkar to take ownership of this issue by committing to a taskforce for O’Connell Street.

“We are long past the point of offloading responsibility to a local authority that is not capable of tackling the problems.

“If the Government fails to act, it will only condemn O’Connell Street to an even bleaker future.”