Dublin now one of world’s safest cities
Sceptics might suggest those compiling the survey only stayed in the city for happy hour on a sunny Sunday afternoon, but the results reveal that the city has clambered up the quality of life league table and is also one of the safest in the world.
The survey, by consulting firm Mercer, ranked Dublin 18th in the world for personal safety standards, along with Copenhagen, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich and Nuremberg, and ahead of many other European cities, including Amsterdam (25th), Brussels (36th) and Berlin (39th). London came in at 64th, along with New York.
Overall, Zurich tops the table but Dublin canters in at a respectable 23rd, up 12 places on last year.
“The improved rating for Dublin is explained by a small improvement in the city’s air pollution standards and in the city’s rating for climate conditions,” said Irene Goldrick, Mercer marketing manager.
She described Dublin’s position in the world rankings as very encouraging but added the gap between the cities at the top and bottom of the table was still large.
However, the annual survey takes a western, consumer-driven city, New York, as its base, giving it a score of 100.
Dublin scores 102.5 while Brazzaville in the war-ravaged Congo, the city ranked lowest, has a score in the 30s.
Other African, and Latin American cities, also ranked badly.
Dublin Lord Mayor Dermot Lacey welcomed the results, particularly as the survey is studied by companies deciding where to locate offices.
“I would be pleased that an external examination says this is a fairly good place to live.
But we should not be complacent,” he said.
Apart from certain areas, Mr Lacey said he always felt Dublin was a safe city. He cited housing - the inability of many young people to afford to live in the city - as a key quality of life issue that must be grasped by politicians.
The survey, carried out in November last year, analysed and evaluated 39 quality of life indicators for each city, including political, social, economic and environmental factors, personal safety and health, education, transport and other public services.
