EU Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly finds walking around Dublin 'scary'

Emily O’Reilly said that since the riots in Dublin in November "so many people here in Brussels and in Strasbourg have been asking: What's happening in Ireland?"

European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly has admitted she finds walking around parts of Dublin "scary" and that she disagrees with recent claims that the capital is a safe city.

Ms O’Reilly said that since the riots in Dublin in November "so many people here in Brussels and in Strasbourg have been asking: What's happening in Ireland?

“It was something that was not unexpected, but then again, why should we be any different from any other European state?

“When Dublin happened, people weren't really prepared for it. But, most of all, more than anything, people need to be honest about what the situation is.

“People coming out afterwards and saying Dublin is a safe city and all of this — well, I mean, I noticed there was a street (Harbour Court) closed down in Dublin (city centre) recently.

“Occasionally if I'm trying to get the DART and then the LUAS or whatever, I walk around there with my husband — I wouldn't do it on my own — and it's scary."

Ms O'Reilly said that on tackling lawlessness in Dublin, lessons could be learned from the methods employed by Rudy Giuliani when he was mayor of New York. 

'Broken windows' theory

She accepts that, following his indictment on racketeering charges Giuliani is now “disgraced”, but finds some inspiration when he espoused the “broken windows” theory to clean up NY in the 1990s. 

It is based on the theory that if one broken window in a building wasn’t fixed, it would soon lead to all the other windows being broken. And so minor crime and anti-social behaviour cannot be ignored.

"Although he's disgraced now, Giuliani (followed) the broken windows theory. That form of policing may not be as sophisticated as people would like, but actually, it's what works and this involves the entire community.

“In order to make it safe, it's not just about policing, it's about so much else as well. It’s also about having pride in the city and keeping it in a fit state for everybody who wants to live there or be a tourist.”

Ms O'Reilly also says that “communication is absolutely vital to everything”, and particularly to communities welcoming new arrivals.

“If a community is going to be asked to host new people — for the sake of the community, but also for the sake of the new people — there has to be some sort of conversation." And that if communication doesn't take place, "worse things can happen".