Dublin City Council is asking people for their views on new plans to pedestrianise Dame Street.

The proposal is part of the College Green Plaza project which was turned down by An Bord Pleanála in 2018.

However, due to the new Bus Connects plans the City Council say Dame Street would no longer have to allow for traffic.

A number of trial days have already taken place in the area over weekends and on Culture Night.

The consultation will run from today until January 15th.

Meanwhile, some people feel that the plans should include a wider traffic plan for the city centre.

Keith Gavin, Chairman of the Irish Parking Association, told Newstalk Breakfast that motorists are being discouraged from entering the city centre.

He said: "We're not opposed to the plaza itself, it's to be welcomed and I think the new plans, which fit in with the Bus Connects plans, are much improved from the previous iteration.

"However, it's just part of an ongoing, cumulative strategy of piecemeal actions which are discouraging car users from entering the city centre.

"Between the pedestrian plaza, the pedestrianisation of the Grafton Street area, the cycle lane facilities, all seem to be designed to exclude motorists and exclusive private car access to the city centre at a time when their importance and their contribution to the economic activity of the city centre is crucial.

"We're just concerned that there is no overarching integrated traffic plan for the city centre.

However, Janet Horner, Green Party Councillor for Dublin's North Inner City, said the plans offer the opportunity for improved access to the city centre.

She said: "If you look at College Green, it's a very prohibitive place for people to cycle through, it's very dangerous to cycle through, it's unpleasant to walk through, the public transport system reaches a real bottleneck there.

"I think the plans that are being brought forward now are looking at how to improve access for those people, to make it a safer much more comfortable experience and give this huge amenity back to the city.

"We've been assured by the council that access will be maintained, access will be maintained to the car parks, disability access will be maintained and the bus routes will be able to continue to run through the city.

"We're looking at a proposal which purports to give greater access to the city to a much wider group of people."