Temple Bar group seeks back lane closures to stop drug dealing

Businesses and residents in Dublin’s Temple Bar are appealing to Minister for Justice Helen McEntee and Dublin City Council to shut off back lanes in the area in an attempt to combat “industrial scale” drug dealing, muggings and other crimes.

The Aston Quay and Temple Bar Business and Residents Alliance said urgent action was needed to address the “high levels of open drug dealing and street crime” in the area.

The group, which represents 25 businesses and three residents’ organisations, is seeking a meeting with Ms McEntee to highlight the “limitations of to the current approach to tackling antisocial behaviour”, and concerns about the lack of a long-term plan “that will deliver a lasting solution to the open drug dealing and street crime that is so pervasive in the area”.

Stephen Kennedy of Copper + Straw coffee shop, who chairs the association, said its members are “plagued” by drug-dealing gangs.

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“Regrettably, Aston Quay and Temple Bar have become known areas for drug dealing and every day groups of people – sometimes 10 and more – gather in the lanes, on corners and in bus stops and openly deal and take drugs. There is no attempt to hide what they’re doing. They hand out drugs, count money, smoke crack pipes and drink alcohol,” he said in a letter to Ms McEntee.

‘Routinely vandalised’

Fights frequently result, and there have been “multiple serious violent assaults”, Mr Kennedy said. “Our staff and people living in the area are abused, our businesses have been broken into and robbed, muggings are a common occurrence and property is routinely vandalised.”

The situation was detrimental to the safety of people living and working in the area, the experience of tourists visiting the city, the quality of life of residents, the viability of businesses, as well as the image of the city, he said.

“The prominence of these locations and their importance to the city cannot be overstated. Aston Quay is a prime business area and transportation hub that serves a network of city buses, long-haul coaches and airport express buses. The intersection is one of the busiest in the country and serves as the main gateway to the north and south of the city,” he said.

“Temple Bar is one of the most popular cultural and entertainment quarters in the city and a focal point for the large numbers of tourists that visit Dublin throughout the year.”

Mr Kennedy said The scale and seriousness of the antisocial behaviour in the area could not be allowed to continue.

“Urgent action and lasting solutions are needed to restore order to the city and to give back confidence to the people living in, working in and visiting the city. The alternative is to hand over the keys of the city to drug dealers and accept a hollowed-out city where businesses will not renew their leases, residents will move away and tourists will choose safer cities to visit.”

Concrete measures

The group acknowledged the recent commitment to an additional €10 million for Garda overtime, and intensifying efforts to tackle street-level drug dealing, and said it had good collaborative relationships with local gardaí.

However, it said concrete measures needed to be taken to address the area’s specific problems. In addition to a “high visibility” Garda response to drug dealing, Dublin City Council should implement a “tactical closure of back lanes” in the area until a strategy for their use could be devised.

Mr Kennedy said the group was not referring to the closure of lanes used by through traffic, but rather narrow back alleyways generally used for back entrances to buildings or bin storage. These lanes were frequently used for drug-related activities, but also served as hiding places and escape routes for those who had perpetrated muggings and assaults.

“Dublin City Council need to take a much more proactive role to address antisocial activity from an urban planning and design perspective,” he said.

The Department of Justice and the council have been asked for comment.