Dublin; Drugs, drink and the stench of urine are alive, alive oh

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Drugs, drink and the stench of urine are alive, alive oh
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Drugs paraphernalia - including potentially deadly syringes - lie on a bench along the boardwalk, just yards from the GPO on O'Connell St

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By John Meagher
Tuesday May 10 2011
Queen Elizabeth and Barack Obama are on their way to Dublin, but we won't be be in a hurry to show them sections of the city centre where drug dealers, drunks and beggars rule the roost. John Meagher reports. Photos by Dave Meehan and Ronan Lang.

It is a gloriously sunny May morning in Dublin and there's considerable drama happening outside Ireland's national theatre, The Abbey. A crowd of vagrants -- their faces ravaged by years of drug addiction -- roar obscenities at each other. They seem to be arguing over the final dregs of cider in a large plastic bottle. One of them -- a woman who looks like she's in her 40s but is probably much younger -- swings a punch at an especially emaciated man and keels over in the effort.

The commotion lasts for five minutes until they split into two groups -- the smaller bunch making their way unsteadily towards Eden Quay, the other along Marlborough Street in a northbound direction. They leave behind a trail of litter -- including the empty cider bottle.

The Abbey Street Luas stop is less than 100 metres away from the National Theatre -- and roughly the same distance again from O'Connell Street, the home of Clery's famous department store, the Spire and the Gresham Hotel.

Among the waiting crowd of shoppers and tourists is another group of drug addicts. They are hustled around the ticket machines, loudly demanding change from nervous customers.

As the tram arrives, an addict steps absent-mindedly in front of it and the driver is forced to slam on the brakes and blare the horn. That seems to be the cue for his companions to join him on the track, blocking the progress of the Luas.

What is perhaps surprising, as the tourist season kicks off and on the eve of VIP visits by Queen Elizabeth and US President Barack Obama, is how commonplace scenes like this have become on Dublin's streets.

Ireland needs the tourist euro like never before. Last year was a disaster for visitor numbers with figures showing a 15pc drop in Irish trips by overseas visitors from the previous year to 5.6 million people, and Dublin took a major hit; it lost 500,000 visitors compared to 2009.

Yet, for shoppers, workers, business owners and tourists, large swathes of Dublin city centre have become areas to be hurried through -- while side-stepping drug dealers, drug users, drunks, beggars and feral children.

Apart from a few well-heeled thoroughfares, many people, locals and visitors alike, say they feel deeply uncomfortable with what they see. They feel unsafe. They feel threatened.

Daylight or night time, it makes little difference; many of the city's streets are shabby and menacing.

Just listen to Pat Liddy, a respected Dublin historian who conducts walking tours of the city: ""There are sections of it east of O'Connell Street that are virtually no-go and even around the so-called affluent Grafton Street, there are problems. The lane-ways off it are the pits. It's all very dispiriting for a proud Dub like me."

In London and New York, huge steps have been taken to clean up tourist areas such as Leicester Square and Times Square, with intensive policing and anti-dereliction schemes. Critics say Dublin now needs the same fresh ideas to arrest its dramatic slide.

Perhaps the most startling observation comes from Ciara Sugrue of Dublin Tourism, who, in a blunt admission, said of the city: "Anti-social behaviour rules the roost."

Angry that their funding from Fáilte Ireland is minuscule compared to the rest of the country, Dublin Tourism says a run-down capital is having a hugely detrimental impact on our potential.

Sugrue points out that Dublin was the sixth most popular European capital in 2007 but the city has now slipped out of the top 10 to 11th.

Senior gardaí admit there are problems, but they insist the force is making progress.

Yet the evidence is hard to ignore. The owner of one tourism business said some of his visitors have vowed never to return to Dublin.

"They're shocked by the poverty, the on-street drinking, the urination, the petty thefts," said Cathal O'Connell of Paddy Wagon, which caters for backpackers.

The city's increasingly ugly face can be seen at first hand in a long walk around the city centre -- north and south of the river -- a litany of nastiness in broad daylight.

In just a few daylight hours last week, I witnessed what many people in the city see every day: a drug deal in a laneway off Eden Quay, as two young men exchanged a tiny plastic bag and money.

Nearby a man lay prostrate on the pretty boardwalk near the Ha'penny Bridge. Under the blooming hanging baskets, he lay prone with blood and vomit soaking his tattered T-shirt.

Near Mulligan's famous pub on Poolbeg Street -- a must for any visitor -- a man dropped his trousers in broad daylight and urinated, his waste streaking the pavement just metres away from disgusted female passers-by.

Minutes later, near Mabbot Lane, teenage girls from an English lacrosse team stood transfixed as a drug-addled couple verbally abused each other in front of them. The female was accusing her partner of beating their child.

Nearby, another tourist favourite -- a line of Dublin Bikes -- was under assault. A group of feral children, oblivious to the onlookers, hacked away at the machines's tyres, saddles and bells, in an attempt to render them unusable.

Everyone seems to have a story. Tom O'Neill and his wife, Anna, a couple in their 50s, were visiting last week from upstate New York, their first visit to Tom's ancestral country. Both were shocked at how grubby Dublin city is and the extent of public drinking -- a criminal offence in the US.

The couple had been looking for the famous Pro-Cathedral in Marlborough Street. "We're staying near Merrion Square and that part of the Dublin is lovely," Tom said, "but I can't get over the difference on this side of the river. I'd no idea there were so many homeless people in Ireland, and there seems to be a major drug problem, too.

"The concierge told us to be careful about coming to this side of town at night time and I can see exactly what he means. We don't feel very safe now. The camera is staying in the bag."

It was a feeling mirrored by Rie and Michael, a pair of marketing students from Denmark, staying in a hostel on Gardiner Street. Neither wanted to walk the area at night.

"Copenhagen has its problems too," Michael said, "but you don't really see it in the centre of the city where the tourists are. I can't believe how many people seem to be drunk in the middle of the day, falling about."

The pair laughed when told Dublin 1 was -- long before the introduction of postcodes -- the most prestigious part of the city. "Well, it definitely does not feel like that now," Rie said. "That must have been a long time ago."

It is indeed difficult to imagine that this part of our capital was far more fashionable than the southside in the early 18th century. It was only when the Duke of Leinster built his imposing townhouse on what's now Kildare Street that the moneyed set followed him across the Liffey.

The north inner city has never truly recovered. O'Connell Street may have had a much-needed facelift in recent years, but the streets off it remain down at heel. It's clear that today's issues are not just about policing; Dublin City Council has much to answer for too.

One need only venture into Sackville Place to see how derelict this part of Dublin truly is. Once you go past the Clery's building you step back to a world that remained untouched by the Celtic Tiger.

There's a desolate row of shops, almost all unoccupied. Last week, an old man lay sleeping in a doorway. The lane near it, Earl Place, is so uninviting, even the homeless avoid it.

I retraced my footsteps and walked down Marlborough Street. There was a persistent smell of urine and it was impossible to walk up the street without noticing the sheer numbers of drug addicts congregating here.

Drug treatment centres pockmark Dublin 1 -- and this is the result, on a once magnificent street parallel to O'Connell Street and just 100m away.

At the corner where Marlborough, Talbot and North Earl streets meet, staff who work in the shops here are on constant alert. Just a stone's throw from the Pro-Cathedral and the HQ of the Department for Education, the area is a notorious hang-out for drug dealers and shoplifters.

West of O'Connell Street and it's much the same story. Middle Abbey and Henry streets are comparatively free of anti-social behaviour, but once you reach Wolfe Tone Park (behind the Jervis Shopping Centre) and environs, it's a depressingly familiar story.

Last week, the park was teeming with tourists and workers having lunch, yet the mood was dominated by a group of drunk men, congregating near The Church pub, and a large group of teenage boys, shouting foul language at strangers and themselves.

Up at Smithfield, a plaza re-developed at vast public expense, the smell of failure was everywhere. The Lighthouse Cinema has closed and numerous other businesses are boarded up. The square was deserted.

I completed my walk on Middle Abbey Street and watched a group of Romany gypsies harassing customers having coffee outside Arnotts. Anti-begging legislation was introduced last year and has been a qualified success, but gangs are still operating across the city.

It's a scene -- like so many others I witnessed on the Dublin tourist trail -- that is almost guaranteed to make visitors say: "We'll never come back again. And we'll advise our friends never to visit Dublin ... "

Tomorrow

The senior Garda chief responsible for a large part of the north-inner city gives his views. We also speak to Lord Mayor Gerry Breen, a city drug clinic, an outspoken business leader and a visionary planner at Dublin City Council.

- John Meagher

FreudianSlippers

In fairness they really only talk about some problem areas that we all know about... it's just a matter of "what do we do?"

Jail doesn't work. There are little to no rehabilitation services for these people.

The area from Marlborough Street to Gardiner Street Lower and Eden Quay to Sean MacDermott Streets are bad, yeah. That's pretty much all the article is about to be fair.

Yes, I fully agree that this area needs to be revitalised and get the junkies and the criminals out. But how? Other than a huge crackdown by AGS and the introduction of certain "sit-lie" ordinances what else can we do?
I don't think that the proximity of the methadone clinic in that area is totally unrelated either.

Yes, Dublin is a city which made the choice to integrate its social lower class into its city and throughout its city, whereas other major cities ship them out to the outskirts and certain slum areas... is that much better? perhaps for tourists and those who like the "posh" areas of town. But I don't think that you can compare apples with oranges when you factor in the fact that we have social housing throughout all areas of this city.
Was that a good idea? I'm not so sure any more... it obviously seemed like a good idea, but sure, lets create ghettos and slums outside the city centre as long as it means that the tourists are happy?

darkman2

Get the methodrone clinics out of the city center. They should not be there. There is no other capital city in Europe I have visited or know of that has that policy of locating them in the center of their cities. We see the consequence of that now.

Something radical has to be done fast because im in town every day and I am seeing it get worse and worse by the month. The scum really do have the run of the place. And it's embarrasing for all of us who do go in to Dublin everyday.

Dublin will end up becoming like Naples - a dangerous menacing hell hole of a city that tourists will be told to avoid and even Dubs won't want to go in.

I would also support a program of getting social housing as far away from the city center as possible. The article is completely right. That policy has really come back to hit us hard when we are down.

The Scientician

The city centre's fairly desperate all right, kinda derelict and dirty in many parts, but to me it feels way safer than it did in the 1990's. Once I was mugged, and was the victim of a couple of attempted muggings at the time. I dunno if teenage kids are seen as a soft touch but it's rare in town that anyone says anything to me. Streets seem less deserted at off-peak times than they once were too. However, I think Abbey St. between the Abbey and the railway bridge is a disgrace and wouldn't want to have to be getting a bus home from there every evening.

darkman2

My solution would involve widespread security "zones" modelled on what is in the IFSC. The IFSC area has it's own security. You won't see beggars or scumbags acting up down there because security is very quick in dealing with them. Some may say the cameras and security down there are OTT. I don't. The IFSC is the safest part of the city center and people enjoy walking down there. We should have that security for different areas all over the city center IMO. It works well. (and the IFSC is not exactly in a place with no scumbags so it can work)

CiaranC

Its a simple policing issue, seems to me.

I am pie

darkman2 wrote: »

My solution would involve widespread security "zones" modelled on what is in the IFSC. The IFSC area has it's own security. You won't see beggars or scumbags acting up down there because security is very quick in dealing with them. Some may say the cameras and security down there are OTT. I don't. The IFSC is the safest part of the city center and people enjoy walking down there. We should have that security for different areas all over the city center IMO. It works well. (and the IFSC is not exactly in a place with no scumbags so it can work)

Completely agree with the need for additional security but there are 2 significant problems which would be difficult to address. Who pays for them ? What do we do if we catch people involved in low level drug / alcohol related crime. I don't believe we have the jail capacity or police resources to deal with everyone caught..back to cost I suppose.

darkman2

This also means alot for the Queen's visit. Because Dublin as an administrative capital is so unusual in having so much social housing within walking distance of the city center it means the thug element is near the city center. Wait and see these scumbags hijack protests and destroy the city center next week when the Queen is here. International media will say it's anti Queen protests gone wild - but we will know it's the little scumbags looking for an excuse.

Smiley G

I live in Dublin 1 and have done for 5 years, before that I lived down on the quays and it has always been a complete mess as far as I am concerned. The streets are always litted with rubbish and the amount of fresh and stale piss I step over every day/night is unacceptable... or it should be, but apparently it is not an issue here. I walk past plenty of gards on my way home (i work nights, so this is often between midnight and 4am) and they simply ignore people urinating in public.
why is this?
In london years ago one of my friends was nearly arrested for taking a piss down a side street late at night.

I am not advocating a police state but the level of policing here is definitely too low. And the police seem to simply ignore and just accept the druggies on the street... stopping to chat to them and thats all!
Things are a little too laid back for their own good.

starviewadams

It's quite futile for the Gardai to tell the groups of drug addicts to move on from these areas because the majority of the addicts probably access treatment clinics in the locality and also a high percentage of them are probably accomodated in the hostels that are dotted around the Gardiner Street area aswell,where are they supposed to move off to?

If DCC just ship the problem out to the suburbs all that will do is replicate the anti-social problems that areas like Ballymun,Tallaght,Clondalkin and numerous other areas have experienced.

FreudianSlippers

The Scientician wrote: »

The city centre's fairly desperate all right, kinda derelict and dirty in many parts, but to me it feels way safer than it did in the 1990's. Once I was mugged, and was the victim of a couple of attempted muggings at the time. I dunno if teenage kids are seen as a soft touch but it's rare in town that anyone says anything to me. Streets seem less deserted at off-peak times than they once were too. However, I think Abbey St. between the Abbey and the railway bridge is a disgrace and wouldn't want to have to be getting a bus home from there every evening.

I totally agree. The city is much safer than it was in the 80s and 90s.

darkman2 wrote: »

My solution would involve widespread security "zones" modelled on what is in the IFSC. The IFSC area has it's own security. You won't see beggars or scumbags acting up down there because security is very quick in dealing with them. Some may say the cameras and security down there are OTT. I don't. The IFSC is the safest part of the city center and people enjoy walking down there. We should have that security for different areas all over the city center IMO. It works well. (and the IFSC is not exactly in a place with no scumbags so it can work)

I agree, plus the area needs a serious urban regeneration effort in the aforementioned area.

Smiley G wrote: »

I live in Dublin 1 and have done for 5 years, before that I lived down on the quays and it has always been a complete mess as far as I am concerned. The streets are always litted with rubbish and the amount of fresh and stale piss I step over every day/night is unacceptable... or it should be, but apparently it is not an issue here. I walk past plenty of gards on my way home (i work nights, so this is often between midnight and 4am) and they simply ignore people urinating in public.
why is this?
In london years ago one of my friends was nearly arrested for taking a piss down a side street late at night.

I am not advocating a police state but the level of policing here is definitely too low. And the police seem to simply ignore and just accept the druggies on the street... stopping to chat to them and thats all!
Things are a little too laid back for their own good.

Totally agree, this is a failure on the part of both DCC and AGS. The main question is what do we do with the junkies when we take them in?
We need to get them off the streets, but jail isn't the right option IMO.

Latchy

Not having a go at my home city and I know many people might say ' sod the tourists , it's our city , we live here and that's what counts first ' .But the tourists who say they will never come back will also spread that message back in their home country's '' avoid Dublin city '' .

At a time when the country needs tourists more then ever ,there has to be some serious effort into tackling the more unpleasant issues as mentioned and overall , make visiting the city a better experience for residents and tourists alike . Just my 10 cents

temply

Have to say am sick of the sight of all the junkies myself. I work just around the corner from a clinic & every day there are loads of them hanging around.

Its sickening.

CiaranC

temply wrote: »

Have to say am sick of the sight of all the junkies myself. I work just around the corner from a clinic & every day there are loads of them hanging around.

Its sickening.

Unfortunatley for you its not actually a crime to be aesthetically unpleasant looking. :rolleyes:

The real problem is anti-social behaviour. This needs to be tackled by the Gardai in accordance to our laws, which it currently isnt. How long would groups of people hassling tourists and shoppers last in the centre of London? They'd be in the back of a Met van in two minutes.

Auvers

on my way home to the bus from work everyday takes me down Hawkins Street\Poolbeg Street and its like a scene reminiscent of The Wire with the junkies and scumbags dealing and drinking from flagons and Pearse Street Garda station just around the corner

it disgusts me that our so called police force choose to ignore these vermin everyday, cause if I can see why cant they?

temply

CiaranC wrote: »

Unfortunatley for you its not actually a crime to be aesthetically unpleasant looking. :rolleyes:

The real problem is anti-social behaviour. This needs to be tackled by the Gardai in accordance to our laws, which it currently isnt. How long would groups of people hassling tourists and shoppers last in the centre of London? They'd be in the back of a Met van in two minutes.

Did I say it was? :rolleyes: I was simply stating that I'm sick of the sight of them & their anti social behaviour whilst I'm at it.

temply

Auvers wrote: »

on my way home to the bus from work everyday takes me down Hawkins Street\Poolbeg Street and its like a scene reminiscent of The Wire with the junkies and scumbags dealing and drinking from flagons and Pearse Street Garda station just around the corner

it disgusts me that our so called police force choose to ignore these vermin everyday, cause if I can see why cant they?

The shower i see every day make the lads out of the wire look like Eton school boys.

DonalK1981

CiaranC wrote: »

Unfortunatley for you its not actually a crime to be aesthetically unpleasant looking. :rolleyes:

The real problem is anti-social behaviour. This needs to be tackled by the Gardai in accordance to our laws, which it currently isnt. How long would groups of people hassling tourists and shoppers last in the centre of London? They'd be in the back of a Met van in two minutes.

From the MET van to where though? Revolving door system we have they are out in a few hours. As I was reading this, I came up with what could be a solution. Maybe for some of you it is extreme, but I think others might agree.
If there was a 24 hour court service, with a judge sitting round the clock, with the power and authority to detain a person for anti-social or drug/drink induced messiness, with detention of 2 weeks straight, in a secure detox centre which is totally isolated and drug free. If they were clean physically they have some hope.
Also a look on the welfare system is needed, and for those who are seeking work, they have to assist for say 15-20 hours community service related activities such as cleaning the community they receive the welfare in. Easy to implement with very little outlay, as it is already being awarded in benefits. Might give a decent shine to the capital and the surrounding areas once again.

talla10

Auvers wrote: »

it disgusts me that our so called police force choose to ignore these vermin everyday, cause if I can see why cant they?

It isn't just AGS its the whole legal system. If Gardai do arrest all these junkies they bring them to station and charge them. They can then gave them bail from the station or bring them straight to court where a judge will inevitably give them bail.

Then they will walk out of court and do exactly what thet are doing now. IMO more Gardai and more prison space is needed but as we all know we're too broke :mad:

I certainly wouldn't be impressed if i visited a country with a city like Dublin. I wouldnt got back and id tell who would listen to stay away.

Auvers

talla10 wrote: »

It isn't just AGS its the whole legal system. If Gardai do arrest all these junkies they bring them to station and charge them. They can then gave them bail from the station or bring them straight to court where a judge will inevitably give them bail.

fcuk the legal system, do it the Dutch way


Crack some fcuking heads

jim69

round all the junkies up and transport them to an uninhabited island somewhere.there a waste of time money and oxygen.worse than vermin.add beggers to the equation as well.dublins ruined by this scum

latenia

darkman2 wrote: »

Dublin will end up becoming like Naples - a dangerous menacing hell hole of a city that tourists will be told to avoid and even Dubs won't want to go in.

Have you been to Naples or are you basing your views on 'Gommorah?' I'd go back there without hesitation-if one of the world's most beautiful, vibrant and culturally important cities is your idea of a hellhole you need to get out more.

starviewadams wrote: »

also a high percentage of them are probably accomodated in the hostels that are dotted around the Gardiner Street area as well

A nice piece of snobby generalisation on your part-the guesthouses and hostels on Gardiner St are firmly aimed at the budget tourist market and I'm sure the owners are more conscious than most of the effect of the antisocial behaviour on their businesses.

_blank_

round and round and round we go, same old same old :rolleyes: