Sir, – Crime statistics expose clearly how the common narrative of rural Ireland being neglected in favour of investment in big cities is exactly the reverse of the truth ("Dublin's north inner city has highest crime rate in the State", News, October 2nd).
High crime rates are not just down to policing – that only addresses the symptoms; the underlying causes are chronic lack of education, lack of facilities, lack of social care and lack of opportunity. In the case of Dublin’s north inner city, the long-term neglect of those factors is clearly the worst of any location in the State.
The fact that a tiny area, home to just 1.7 per cent of Ireland’s population, is victim to almost 10 per cent of all crimes is an indictment of 40 years of government policy. While wealth has been transferred for decades from urban to rural areas in the form of subsidies, education grants, huge spending on amenities and other infrastructure, and more recently in property tax transfers, the ordinary people of Dublin, Limerick and other cities have been left behind.
According to some logic Dublin’s north inner city, home to the docklands and the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), should be surfing the crest of wave of high value employment. There are plenty of jobs and many job vacancies, but sadly the youth of the area have some of the lowest school and college competition rates in Ireland and few are able to take them up.
The area desperately needs enormous ongoing investment in housing, childcare, before-school and after-school clubs, sports facilities, educational assistance and vital social supports for both adults and children. Effective policing, sentencing and detention are essential to dampen rampant criminal activity and the corrupting effect this has on the behaviour and outcomes for others in the area. The concentration of homeless and drug-treatment facilities in the area needs to be dispersed more evenly across the city and affected individuals need more assistance to rebuild their lives.
Every time there is the slightest hint of a policy that threatens the rural interest, rural politicians and lobbies are up in arms and make themselves heard and felt strongly across the spectrum.
They have successfully represented their constituents, but where are the voices speaking up for the cities? Why are urban politicians not standing up and fighting the same fight for their own people? Our representatives are useless. They have failed us for generations and the latest crime figures condemn them all. – Yours, etc,
JOHN THOMPSON,
Phibsboro,
Dublin 7.