O'Connell Street a symbol for 'deliberate destruction' of local democracy
O’Connell Street sits at the symbolic centre of Irish independence and national identity, but its reputation has diminished over the decades to now be described by Lonely Planet as a “troubled street” characterised by “visible drug use”.
This juxtaposition between its proud association with Ireland’s fight for freedom during the 1916 Easter Rising and now being a place populated with gambling arcades, takeaways and derelict buildings is stark. Decades ago, people called it Dublin ’s Champs-Élysées, but today many warn against walking down the street alone at night.
The neglect O’Connell Street has suffered is no surprise according to Labour Councillor Dermot Lacey who spoke to Dublin Live about what he describes as the "deliberate destruction” of local democracy by central government. Having sat on Dublin City Council for the past 33 years, he believes local authorities have been hamstrung by successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael-led governments who have stripped councils of their power.
Places like O’Connell Street used to be real neighbourhoods as people lived above street shops, with Cllr Lacey railing against the red tape and bureaucracy that has allowed buildings to sit vacant for decades. While he accepts the importance of 1916 in Ireland’s history, he stressed that “the proclamation signatories didn't die for O’Connell Street to become a museum”.
Today there are no residents on O’Connell Street and its decline, which many say began with the destruction of Nelson's Pillar back in 1966 , has been continually felt for decades. Although public outcries against DCC for the decimation of Dublin are common, Cllr Lacey points to a central government that doesn't provide enough power for councils to utilise historic buildings, tackle dereliction, or acquire landmarks.
To get a proper picture of how this has happened, Cllr Lacey encourages people to simply “follow the money”. He cites lost revenue into the hundreds of millions that, if properly distributed, could be funnelled into public infrastructure and housing in a way that allows once proud Dublin streets to prosper again.
It’s estimated DCC will collect €109 million in local property tax in 2026 of which Cllr Lacey claims around 80% is “hijacked by government”. Another statistic which he has consistently brought up in council meetings relates road improvement funding. “Of the 718 million allocated for road improvement, do you know how much Dublin got? Nothing, absolutely nothing,” he said.
He also called out the fact that the government does not pay commercial rates on the buildings they occupy, which results in DCC losing out on tens of millions every year that could be ring-fenced for urban renewal. “That decision cost Dublin City Council about €40 million last year,” he said.
Cllr Lacey described Dublin as being “massively discriminated against” and accused the Department of Housing of “dismantling our local government system” as power is transferred to "unaccountable state agencies”. He said a key principle of the European Union is subsidiarity and giving the space for local authorities to address issues at a local level. “Ireland breaks that every single day in terms of our lack of power,” he said.
Speaking of Tánaiste Simon Harris' recent comments that local authorities had "badly failed" when it comes to tackling dereliction and now government must step in to clean up their mess, Cllr Lacey said he had "extraordinary cheek and arrogance in making that comment". He said: "I give absolutely no credence to Simon Harris's comments, and I think they were absolutely shameful to be honest with you.
"He's been a member of a government for nearly 15 years that has brought in the Local Government Act of 2014, which was nearly the death knell of local government. They start blaming everybody else other than the people who are responsible."
Cllr Lacey said that Ireland has a lot of catching up to do compared to other European countries when it comes to the autonomy of local government. He cited the Council of Europe's Congress of Local and Regional Authorities monitoring report from 2023, which identified Ireland as having one of the weakest and most centralised local government systems in Europe.
“They put us fourth last place. The only countries that had a worse system to us were Moldova, Hungary, and Russia and that’s an independent international assessment of us. That doesn’t reflect on us well,” he said.
One revenue stream Cllr Lacey has advocated for decades is the introduction of a tourist tax which has been gaining traction in recent months. He believes that, if used properly, these funds could rejuvenate the inner city through projects that are mutually beneficial for Dubliners and visitors alike.
At a March council meeting discussing the topic, Cllr Lacey said he first tabled a motion for a tourist levy in 2002 at a rate of €2 per visitor. Had that been introduced at the time, he calculated the council would have collected an additional €396m that could rejuvenate not just O’Connell Street but all across the city.
Ultimately, Cllr Lacey sees the stagnation of O’Connell Street not in terms of unfortunate planning failures or bad luck but a predictable consequence of local authorities being denied power. If given the power to manage their own communities, Cllr Lacey believes “Ireland can be transformed through local government reform”.
A key issue he points to is addressing the long-vacant site of the former Carlton Cinema, which was just purchased by the State to make way for the new MetroLink . Another is to bring the Ambassador Theatre into civic ownership.
“The key to rejuvenating O'Connell Street is twofold in my view. Developing the Carlton site and acquiring the Ambassador Theatre. They are absolutely essential,” he said.
If projects like this can be achieved to breathe new life into the street, Cllr Lacey believes its reputation can be restored. While some call O’Connell Street “troubled” and fear its potential for anti-social behaviour, if vacant buildings were instead populated by residents forging out a real sense of community he said it's likely those problems would lessen. “People actually living in an area changes things,” he said.
This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme