SINN FÉIN LEADER Mary Lou McDonald has said there is a “new pattern” of violent behaviour in Dublin and that the government needs to “face the reality” that there is a “safety issue” in the capital.

Her comments come after Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said last week that he believes Dublin is safe, and that he personally feels comfortable walking around the capital “any time of the day or night”. 

O’Callaghan’s comments were dubbed “tone deaf” by Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon, who said they showed “how far removed he is from the reality of life in our capital city”.

Asked today if she feels safe in Dublin, McDonald, a constituency colleague of Gannon, said that over the last number of years, there is a “real sense amongst Dubliners and people visiting our city that the city has become very unsafe, or rather, parts of the city have become very unsafe”.

“And of course, it was ironic that the Justice Minister came out proclaiming how safe Dublin is, and then there were multiple violent incidents and stabbings in the city,” she said, adding that there is also a problem of violence on public transport.

“There’s now a pattern to this behaviour and I think rather than this Justice Minister, just like the last Justice Minister, walking around proclaiming that Dublin is safe, I think they need to face the reality that there is a safety issue on the streets,” McDonald said.

She said the incoming new Garda Commissioner, Justin Kelly, will have to prioritise community safety everywhere, but be mindful of the fact that there is a particular issue in Dublin City Centre.

The Sinn Féin leader said the answer to the issue is greater garda numbers and visibility, but also around “just accepting the fact that there are parts of the city that have such transient populations”.

“So many people who are under real pressure and living in poverty and living with addiction and living with all of that. And that has created a scenario where you have very, very vulnerable people, and where you also have those who would come in to perpetrate violence.

“So it’s a really, really dangerous mix, and somebody, the government, the gardaí need to get a grip of it. Dublin City Council as well,” she said. 

The conversation around safety in Dublin was reignited in recent weeks following a spate of vicious attacks on Indian people that led to the Indian embassy in Dublin issuing a safety warning.

India Day celebrations in the capital were also cancelled as a result of the attacks, while a number of protests have also been held in Dublin in response.

The Justice Minister has stressed that despite these high-profile incidents, assaults in the capital are down in the first six months of this year compared to last year.