Advertisement

'Embarrassing,' 'callous' and 'out of touch' - Councillors react to Keegan 'tents' comments

"Embarrassing", "callous" and "out of touch" are just some of the ways Dublin city councillors ha...
Ben Finnegan
Ben Finnegan

05.55 26 Aug 2021


Share this article


'Embarrassing,' 'callous' and...

'Embarrassing,' 'callous' and 'out of touch' - Councillors react to Keegan 'tents' comments

Ben Finnegan
Ben Finnegan

05.55 26 Aug 2021


Share this article


"Embarrassing", "callous" and "out of touch" are just some of the ways Dublin city councillors have described council chief Owen Keegan’s comments on tents in the city.

The Dublin City Council CEO sparked outrage after making the comments on Newstalk last week.

Speaking to The Hard Shoulder, Mr Keegan said the presence of tents adds to “the perception” that the city is unsafe.

Advertisement

This week, Newstalk asked every city councillor for their thoughts on the comments – and found a lot of opposition to what Mr Keegan said.

One councillor said his comments were disrespectful.

Another believes he shouldn't be a news-setter and is in a role that should be apolitical and not one where he should be making comments about homeless people.

Meanwhile, others think the way Dublin city is being run in recent years isn't with the residents of the city in mind.

Another representative said Mr Keegan shouldn't do media interviews again and had misrepresented himself in the comments.

Meanwhile, some were happy with the job he was doing.

Mr Keegan was appointed to the role of CEO of the local authority in September 2013 and last year, his contract was extended for another two years.

In total, 29 of the 62 Dublin city councillors replied to the request for comment – with the majority saying they have full confidence in the Dublin City Council CEO to carry out duties.

Each member of Dublin City Council was contacted on three separate occasions last week as part of the survey - apart from two representatives whose phone numbers are not publicly available.


Share this article


Read more about

Dcc Dublin City Council Homeless Owen Keegan Tents

Most Popular