Dublin City Partially Reopened – Week One

Steady footfall throughout the week with a daily average of 162,000

Dublin City Centre partially reopened this week to align with the latest easing of lockdown restrictions. A number of retailers in the city centre opened their doors on Monday 8th June, with more following throughout the week including Brown Thomas and Arnotts on Wednesday, and then Penneys reopening today. The daily average footfall in the city this week has been 162,000. On Monday 26% of retailers had reopened and that figure has more than doubled to 56% today.

To coincide with the partial reopening of the city, Dublin City Council together with DublinTown, An Garda Síochána and the National Transport Authority announced last weekend their informative reopening campaign ‘Easing Like Sunday Mornings’, which focuses on educating the public around guidelines when travelling in to the city centre. The aim of the campaign is to encourage the public to take their time when visiting the city and to take it easy.

Richard Guiney, CEO of DublinTown said: ‘Over the course of the week it’s been great to see people come back to the city centre. There has been a nice, steady, and leisurely pace. It has been rewarding to see how the public have taken on the message of relaxing back into the city. Footfall over the course of the day has been remarkably consistent as people enjoy their first ventures back in a safe welcoming environment. The co-operation with store staff has been exemplary for which we are all most grateful. We anticipate that as the city becomes fully operational and cafes, restaurants, and bars re-open that that we will see increased evening use of the city. We are ready to support these new trends which will allow for the continued safe engagement with the city.’

Anne Graham, CEO of NTA said: “We’d like to thank customers for responding positively to our call to travel into the city on off-peak services where possible. As a result, public transport operated very smoothly this week and we hope the public continue to only use transport for necessary journeys.” They are also urging the public to wear face coverings on all transport.

Dublin City Council continues to remind people that the city is only partially open and to be mindful of the need for any journeys to the city centre, especially over the weekend. If members of the public need to come into the city, they are encouraged to walk or cycle and leave public transport use for essential workers.

Assistant Commissioner Pat Leahy said “An Garda Síochána would like to thank the people of Dublin for listening to the messages and adhering to the requests associated with the temporary restrictions in place in the city. With the weekend approaching An Garda Síochána is asking the public to continue to be conscious of the guidelines so that they may enjoy their visit to the city centre as it re-opens. An Garda Síochána, Dublin City Council, the National Transport Authority and DublinTown would appreciate the public’s continued cooperation and hope that everyone continues to enjoy the wonderful experience that Dublin city has to offer.’’

The public is asked to observe the request to ease the city open, plan visits and to be mindful of others. Please avoid unnecessary journeys. Walk or cycle where at all possible and continue to observe social distancing. There will be a Garda presence across the city centre, supported by Dublin City Council Volunteers to assist those who need it.

For further information the public is encouraged to visit www.dublin.ie and www.dublintown.ie where a detailed FAQ page has been put in place to answer potential questions people may have.