The Government has been urged to 'to sort crime' on O'Connell Street before the opening of a new museum within the GPO.
The ambitious new plan will see the historic building host a new national museum, following a recommendation from the Dublin City Task Force.
On Lunchtime Live, Dubliner Tony said the idea of a new museum was “nice” but he fears the north inner city gives tourists a bad impression of Ireland.
“Yesterday around 1 o’clock, I was parked on O’Connell Bridge at the traffic lights and what I saw was absolutely horrific,” he said.
“Drug dealing, drug taking, everyone walking around the bridge like zombies.
“Tourists trying to get a picture of the Ha’Penny Bridge and getting disturbed and hassled.
“It was just a horrible thing to see.”
Monument of Daniel O'Connell. Picture by: Leonid Andronov / Alamy. Tony added that he could not understand why there were no Gardaí to “drag these people off the street”.
“I didn’t spot a Guard on O’Connell Street at all that day,” he said.
“Further up the quays, there’s just open smoking crack and drug dealing.
“It’s just annoying tourists; I’m sure we’ve a bad name across the world for it.”
Tony added that while he “loves” O’Connell Street, the area is not right for a new national museum.
“People aren’t going to go into it if they’re not going to be safe going home at nighttime,” he said.
Main image: The General Post Office on O'Connell Street. Picture by: Alamy.com.
