No European city would tolerate the decay and dereliction visible in Dublin.

That’s according to independent Senator and barrister Michael McDowell, who wrote about the issue in an opinion piece for the Irish Times.

Senator McDowell made the point that Ireland needs statutory agencies with effective and speedy powers to compulsory purchase land that can be developed into affordable homes or apartments.

Architect and lecturer in Griffith College Róisín Murphy offered Lunchtime Live a different solution and said that Irish political leaders should live in Dublin city centre, so they understand why it is such a priority.

“In every other country in the world the leader of the Dáil or the parliament or whatever it is, they live in the city centre for the duration of their work or their tenancy of the country,” she said.

“But in Ireland, all our leaders are still living in remote locations like Greystones or whatever it is.

“We need them to come in to occupy the city centre and the derelict architecture so that this movement is stopped.

“It’s always architects, it’s planners, it’s conservation – we need to become more involved in our urban centres and we need to see that from the leadership.”

An old derelict shop front from Victorian Dublin that is covered graffiti and tags. Image: Douglas O'Connor / Alamy. 5 April 2020

Ms Murphy rejected that this would lead to national policies becoming too ‘Dublin-centric’ and said that many smaller towns and cities have had an easier time resolving this issue.

“I think, actually, change is probably coming faster in the small towns and cities across the country, they’re responding much more quickly,” she said.

“But Dublin is still in crisis; I live in Drumcondra, very close to town, but you meet people locally... and they regard it with fear.

“Dublin is in crisis and regardless of whether you’re talking about the countryside or not, we have a really serious problem in Dublin.”

According to Ms Murphy, if “somebody like the Taoiseach” were to move into Parnell Square, it would bring security and “proper legislative presence” to the city centre.

Main image: A derelict site at Dolphin's Barn in Dublin, 6-4-24. Image: Leah Farrell/© RollingNews.ie