Green Party councillor goes ‘all in’ to stop Parnell Street casino expansion
A Green Party councillor is launching a formal objection against the expansion of a North Inner City casino, arguing that the area needs "real amenities" rather than more slot machines.
Cllr Janet Horner is opposing a proposal by Royal Amusements to expand its Parnell Street location into a corner unit on Dominick Street - a move she claims would add 45 additional slot machines to the venue. In a video shared to social media, Cllr Horner claimed the expansion would "drain money away from the community" and target vulnerable residents in nearby council flats.
Cllr Horner’s reasoning behind the objection is that casinos “prey on vulnerable people, target disadvantaged areas, and drain money away from the community.” “The only way they make money is when people lose. That’s their whole business model and gives nothing back to the local community," she said.
She is calling for the community to come together and ensure Royal Amusements “don’t get legal permission to expand even further.” She said, with recent regenerated council flats on one side of the street, and another due for regeneration on the other, that unit should be reserved for “a corner shop, a cafe, or real amenity that contributes something to the area.”
Cllr Horner stressed that, to have a thriving city centre street, it’s important to stand up against the proliferation of gambling across the city. “This street does not need another casino on the corner,” she said.
A previous planning application for an expansion at the same location was rejected by Dublin City Council in 2021. The inspectors report stated that its proposed use would “adversely affect” the area.
It said the “development would be contrary to policy RD12 and Appendix 3 of the Dublin City Development Plan 2016- 2022, which seeks to promote higher order retail and complementary active uses on the principal shopping streets in the central shopping core, and would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.”
This expansion mirrors a recent planning battle in Ballyfermot earlier this year, where the council rejected an application for an arcade at the former site of McLoughlin's Butchers. Sinn Fein Cllr Daithi Doolan consistently voiced his opposition and hosted a public meeting to unite the community against the provision of another arcade in their locality.
He called the rejection “a victory for common sense” and brought residents, youth services and community groups together to submit their formal objection. “Gambling has nothing to offer this community,” he said at the time.
Now, with Royal Amusements submitting a new planning application, it remains to be seen if Dublin City Council will once again reject it or allow the expansion to take place. Cllr Horner is encouraging people to add their name to her objection before the March 25 deadline.
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