More than half of Dubliners visiting city centre less often after riots, poll finds

More than half of Dubliners have said they are visiting the city centre less, or not at all, amid concern over public safety after the recent riots, a poll has revealed.

The survey also found that more than 80 per cent of people would be unwilling to visit the capital.

It comes after tens of millions of euro worth of damage was caused to public infrastructure in Dublin, with buses, trams and Garda cars on O’Connell Street set on fire and shops looted.

The rioting followed a knife attack near a school in which three children and a care assistant were injured.

Sinn Féin has announced a motion of no-confidence in Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, to be debated in the Dáil on Tuesday, claiming there needed to be accountability for the “catastrophic failure” to keep people safe.

Of the 1,000 people surveyed, 55 per cent said they would visit Dublin city centre more if there was a stronger Garda presence, while 60 per cent agreed it would take a long time to feel safe again in the capital.

In total, 56 per cent of Dubliners and 40 per cent of people nationally said they had either cut back on visits to the city or had cut out their visits completely, due to concerns over safety and crime.

Some 82 per cent of those who had become to reluctant to visit said they had stopped shopping in the city and 62 per cent say they had stopped eating out.

However, the Amárach Research poll for the Irish Daily Mail did find half of Dubliners are still proud to call the city Ireland's capital, despite everything.