Closing laneways in Dublin will not reduce anti-social behaviour in the city, according to Powerscourt Springs Health Firm Director Adrienne Sweeney. 

Dublin City Council (DCC) voted on Monday to close off Harbour Court – a T-Junction-shaped lane linking Abbey Street, Marlborough Street and the Quays. 

Some businesses have been calling for the lane to be shut down for more than a decade due to drug use, dumping and anti-social behaviour. 

Ms Sweeney, however, said closing one lane will not fix the city centre. 

“It begs the question what is the overall plan,” she told The Anton Savage Show. “Closing one lane isn’t going to solve anything.

“It’s just going to move things to the next lane over.” 

She noted that DCC have previously commissioned reports over the years to improve Dublin’s “troublesome lanes”. 

In 2014, for example, the Love the Lanes report reviewed four lanes in Temple Bar and recommended a pop-up cinema, more greenery, an ‘urban rug’ on the ground of laneways and much more to reduce anti-social behaviour. 

“The problem is nothing was done with that – we have the report commissioned that could be acted upon straight away,” Ms Sweeney said. 

“Idle shopfronts that are around these troublesome lanes [need] to have a regeneration plan to get retail and footfall back. 

“If there’s more visibility, less crime will take place. 

“The council need to act on that rather than close one lane and hope for the best. 

“There’s a lot of work we need to do; even just visually cleaning the place up, removing graffiti.” 

Behaviour on Dublin lanes

Irish Independent Political Editor Hugh O’Connell said anti-social behaviour has been building up over the years – and extends beyond laneways. 

“The riots [in November] were a culmination of anti-social behaviour,” he said. “It was the final culmination of a problem that had been festering since COVID. 

“Is street closure the solution to anti-social problems? No, because you’re just moving them elsewhere.” 

He said there are other solutions to make Dublin safer beyond blocking it up. 

“We go on our holidays, and we go down small side streets and it’s all lovely and picturesque,” he said. 

“It’s just not like that in Dublin.” 

Last year, DCC introduced the Shopfront Improvement Scheme 2023 to offer shops in the city funding to repair and improve their facades. 

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