Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan has said Dublin is a safe city despite the alleged assault and robbery of an American football player at the weekend.
Skylar Thompson, a quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers, suffered minor injuries in the alleged incident, which took place in the Dame Street area at about 2.30am on Saturday. Mr O’Callaghan said no complaint has been made to gardaí about the alleged offence.
Mr Thompson was treated by emergency services at the scene and did not require hospital treatment, sources said.
The alleged incident happened during an interaction between the football player and a group of males in the Temple Bar area. It is understood Mr Thompson’s phone was stolen.
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Speaking on Monday, Mr O’Callaghan maintained that Dublin is a safe city with increased Garda visibility and a reduction in crime.
“The point I have been mentioning repeatedly is that Dublin’s a city and county of 1.3 million people. At any time, there’s going to be 200,000 people in Dublin city. So it’s a large international capital city. We’re always going to have incidents there,” said Mr O’Callaghan.
He said “the important thing is that” both he and Government “try to make it as safe as possible for people who are using Dublin city”.
![Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan: 'We’re always going to have incidents [in Dublin city].' Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill](https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/7NATDYK2HJEELBGXTQGSAGNZNQ.jpg?auth=7f4b98ca5cc71b705ae032e6e46eec7396fd0a463f2cab33cfd986e7e44a2d5e&width=800&height=489)
“There’s now more gardaí on the street and we’ve also seen recently that crime rates are down. I’m never going to be in the position where I’m going to be able to say that there will be no attacks on individuals who come to Dublin. It happens in every city.”
He said most people feel safe when they’re walking in Dublin. “But of course, if it’s a situation where somebody has been attacked or is the victim of crime, that hasn’t been a safe experience for that person.”
The Steelers played the Minnesota Vikings in Croke Park on Sunday as part of an international expansion of the NFL. Mr Thompson (28) was with the team but had not been expected to play. He is in the reserve team following a previous injury.
