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BUSINESSES AND LOCALS on Castle Street in Dublin city centre have said that barricades and garda patrols established for the EU presidency mean their street is effectively a “controlled security zone” for the rest of the year.
The €293 million EU presidency has caused traffic and travel disruptions across the city, particularly around Dublin Castle, where the Silk Road Café recently secured an injunction allowing it to reopen after it was ordered to close for six months.
Two businesses on Castle Street beside Dublin Castle – Italian restaurant Bottega Toffoli and MB Glow Spa and Aesthetic Clinic – say their businesses have also been hugely impacted by closures, which began on 23 June.
The businesses said they received no formal notice from the state on the security restrictions, and were only informally told by gardaí a week before barricades were erected on Castle Street.
Social Democrats TD Eoin Hayes is now calling on the government to mitigate the effects of the EU presidency on businesses who have faced losses by introducing a compensation scheme.
Renata Gimenez, owner of MB Glow Spa & Aesthetic Clinic, told The Journal she has been in touch with her solicitor and is considering pursuing legal action over the restrictions as she has had no clients for four of the last seven days.
To enter Castle Street, her clients often have to show ID to gardaí on patrol, explain their reason for being there and have their bag searched, something Gimenez said many are not comfortable doing just to attend an appointment. She said others see the blockades and just assume the road is completely closed.
She said that due to frequent changeover, some garda on patrol don’t even know there are businesses on the street, and she has to tell them the situation every day to ensure her clients are let in.
Since arriving in Ireland 11 years ago, Gimenez said she has worked hard to open her clinic, something she managed to do just four years ago. Now she isn’t sure what the future holds.
“I was thinking about selling, but who would buy this place because of this situation?”
“I’m still paying the rent. I’m still paying the bills,” she added, describing the situation as “very stressful”.
Elaine McArdle, who has run Bottega Toffoli with her husband Carlo for 22 years, said the restaurant would normally be operating at its peak, but now has about 30 fewer customers daily.
McArdle said she wouldn’t mind some security restrictions, but doesn’t understand why all of Castle Street is barricaded, even on days with no events at Dublin Castle.
She said that her restaurant has a loyal customer base who generally make reservations and visit every week, but the business also relies on walk-ins from tourists or people in the area, something which she said has dropped off significantly.
She said there is “dead silence” on the usually bustling street due to the restrictions.
“It just feels like Covid all over again without the masks,” she added.
A particular “sore point” for McArdle is that her regulars, many of whom are older people, now have to show ID and reservations, and face garda questioning to visit the restaurant.
“I just feel for anyone who’s not tech-savvy, or who might feel a bit intimidated by that,” she said.
McArdle fears the closures will impact deliveries of supplies, adding that her husband recently went to a warehouse to collect a delivery directly due to prevent any issues from impacting the food.
After so long in business, McArdle said she is not giving up on her restaurant – but said it is a stressful time.
“You just don’t know where your bread and butter is coming from,” she said.
“I know it will all come back. It’s just a long time to wait. Six months is a long time to wait for that flow of people to come back. Heading into the winter months it is a bit worrying, because winter time is always a struggle for us.”
Clark Brydon, who lives on Castle Street, said the street has “effectively become part of a controlled security zone for the next six months”.
“Residents are now required to present identification simply to access their homes, while local businesses operate behind security checkpoints,” he said.
“We were given no advance notice that these restrictions would be introduced. We woke up on the morning of Tuesday 23rd to see a blockade around the road and were questioned by the Guards when leaving our houses.”
He said security has become a bit more flexible since the barricades were originally put up and said security for presidency events is “entirely reasonable”, but described the approach as like a “blunt instrument”.
“It’s more a frustration with the way that it’s been implemented than the fact that it has to be. It just seems like it could have been done in a better way,” he added.
Eoin Hayes said no government department is taking responsibility for the impact on businesses being caused by the use of Dublin Castle for Ireland’s EU presidency.
“I’m completely at a loss as to how the Taoiseach actually hasn’t taken responsibility for this,” he told The Journal.
“Government seems completely unwilling to engage with these businesses in good faith to make sure that they’re supporting them and enabling them to survive.”
“I think for a government that says that it’s pro-enterprise, for a Taoiseach that says it’s pro-enterprise, the evidence seems to be that they’re anything but.”
He also described the lack of any formal notice to the businesses about the restrictions as “completely reprehensible”.
“It was absolutely ham-fisted, and it has been ham-fisted from the very beginning,” he added.
The Department of Justice told The Journal that An Garda Síochána is “responsible for the operational response to the policing and security of the State and have prepared and put in place arrangements to meet the policing and security requirements associated with the presidency of the EU”.
“The Minister is informed that a comprehensive command, control and coordination framework is in place to support the delivery of presidency-related policing operations, together with all other major and significant policing operations and events, while ensuring the continued provision of effective day-to-day policing services,” it added.
Speaking to The Journal, An Garda Síochána confirmed that Castle Street, Ship Street Little and Ship Street Great will remain closed until 31 December 2026, with local access facilitated.
“An Garda Síochána has been liaising with businesses and local residents in the key locations and will continue to communicate directly with them during the EU presidency, where required,” it said.
“We are working to ensure that the nature and scale of our policing and security operation continue to be proportionate to the need to protect everyone’s safety during the EU presidency.”
The Department of An Taoiseach, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Enterprise have been contacted for comment.
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