A Fáilte Ireland presentation on concerns over anti-social behaviour in Dublin said perceptions of safety in the capital were in line with the norm for other large cities but that nearly a quarter of businesses were worried about their impact.
The briefing, which was prepared for the board of Fáilte Ireland last summer, said that 63% of visitors to Dublin were “more or less neutral” on safety in the city with 8% saying that they considered it poor.
It said that reported incidents of crime against tourists and the public had not increased in recent months, that there was “no cause for alarm” but that there was equally no “room for complacency and improvement is certainly possible.”
The briefing said that 23% of businesses in Dublin had concerns about anti-social behaviour, which compared very unfavourably to just 5% of businesses for the rest of Ireland.
It cited a Global Peace Index, which ranked countries according to safety and the likelihood of danger, and in which Ireland came in third place.
Among those who said that Dublin was unsafe, around 59% said it was a fear of crime, 38% a lack of police or security presence, and 32% who complained of the general appearance of the cityscape.
The Fáilte Ireland presentation also detailed how they had “scraped” social media to get a sense of how people were talking about safety in the capital.
Common themes were anti-social behaviour, open drug use and dealing, and violent attacks with O’Connell Street, Dame Street, and Temple Bar the most frequently mentioned locations.
There are also presentation on safety in Dublin from the city council and An Garda in the below document: