DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL’S chief executive Richard Shakespeare has said that Dublin should get more money from the government than it currently does due to the area’s contribution to Ireland’s GDP.

Shakespeare said the wider Dublin region is responsible for 54% of Ireland’s GDP, a figure included in a 2017 report by the council on infrastructure.  

“I believe we should be entitled to get a little bit more of the taxation that is generated in Dublin, to be spent in Dublin,” he said.

Shakespeare was speaking on the council’s own podcast What’s the Story, Dublin?, where he talked about his background, his role in the council, and what he believes are the main issues that must be tackled by DCC, the largest local authority in the country by population. 

He replaced former chief Owen Keegan in December 2023.

Shakespeare spoke at length about how funding is needed to invest in Dublin, particularly for fixing issues such as vandalism, litter, maintenance, dereliction, and affordable housing.

Speaking about working with the city’s elected councillors, Shakespeare said his vision aligns with what elected members want to see: “a return to basics”.

He praised the councillors for their vote on the Local Property Tax this year. Councillors voted against applying the maximum discount of 15% on LPT in Dublin city, which generated an additional €16.3m in revenue for the council.

Shakespeare said councillors wanted the additional revenue split between things like housing maintenance, roads, and “areas that matter to them”.

“And they can actually turn around and say [to people], ‘well, actually, that’s where your LPT went’.

“We need to get better at articulating where money is spent and where it comes from,” Shakespeare continued. “Be it the new jet-vac [drainage cleaning truck] or the new street cleaning machinery.”

The council has a €1.7 billion budget this upcoming year.

Shakespeare studied horticulture at UCD before doing a master’s degree in engineering, after which he applied for a job at Dublin County Council. He worked in planning and landscaping before managing Marlay Park in Rathfarnham. He was behind the instigation of concerts at the park in 2001.

He said he “developed a bit of a reputation then for making money”, leading to his appointment as senior executive officer at Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.

In 2017, he joined the city council as assistant chief executive before his current role. 

He said he “firmly [believes] in local government”, adding that “a lot of people don’t know what we do, which is a shame – that’s more a reflection on us than them. But then in times of crisis, they lean into the first port of call: that’s the local council’s job”.

“We’re getting very close to establishing the special purpose vehicle that will make us more agile to develop stuff and look at some of the real root causes of urban regeneration or the urban dereliction, and that is trying to get people back into the city, living over the shop.”

Shakespeare also said he is a passionate advocate for the introduction of a tourist accommodation tax, something he said he believes “can financially empower us”.

“A part of my vision was trying to create a sustainable funding base,” he said, adding that there are few levers as a sector that can be used to increase revenue.

“You’ve got the rents, which in fairness to the councillors, they were brave enough to raise them for the first time in 30 years.”

As for the future of the council, he said integrating AI into the daily administrative tasks is something to focus on, but the main priority is delivered more social and affordable cost-rental housing.

“I just need to make the most of the next five years to try to grow the organisation, improve the lot of the citizens of Dublin, and hopefully people will look back kindly in 2030.”