Private security Dublin plan sparks civil liberties row

Here's what it means for the centre of the capital

As per the Irish Times, private security guards could soon patrol Dublin city centre.

The plan comes from business leaders and Robert Watt's new regeneration authority.

According to councillors, officials left them out of the process and are now demanding full scrutiny of the legal and civil liberties implications.

In the meantime, officials are already drafting a tender for a security firm to provide so-called safety operatives.

Watt heads the newly formed Dublin City Development Company, the body charged with reviving O'Connell Street and the streets around it.

A business lobby group, Dublin Town, is acting as the contracting body for the patrols.

Private security Dublin plan faces council scrutiny

A Green Party councillor, Dublin's Janet Horner, called the move a plan with "multiple red flags".

She added: "I am deeply concerned that we would have private policing of Dublin city."

In a reference to the US immigration enforcement agency, Horner asked whether the move amounted to "Dublin's version of Ice."

She added that the plan should not proceed without civil liberties oversight and "needs public scrutiny".

This push follows the Dublin City Taskforce, set up after rioting on O'Connell Street in November 2023.

Watt has said Dublin 1 carries a "massive overconcentration" of services for people on the margins of society.

What happens next with Dublin's private security patrols

Even if Watt's interim unit is already shaping how the patrols would work, Dublin City Development Company has yet to be legally incorporated.

City centre businesses, not the State, are expected to pay for it.

Who will pay for Dublin's private security patrols?

Dublin Town, the business lobby group, is contracting the service, while initial funding is expected from city centre businesses.

Will private security guards replace Gardai in Dublin?

No, as per the proposal, the guards would work alongside Garda resources, not replace them.