DT 1
“I don’t think we’re a million miles behind capit
al cities in Europe when it comes to public transport options” theatre, or outdoor events. Everything is incorporated.” Of course, the largest obstruction to extending the operating hours of clubs and bars is the stagnating Sale of Alcohol Bill. The passing of that (or any) bill has to be done within the bicameral chambers of the Oireachtas, which, obviously, exceeds the power of local authorities, like city or county councils. Working within the parameters of the authority given to councils is something that Ray is realistic about, and he has made connections to help aid him where his powers are reined. One of these connections is with the National Transport Authority (NTA), the body responsible for Ireland’s public transport nationwide, which is a pivotal element in Ray’s scheme. Whilst we have seen a growth in late-night transport services (particularly with newer Dublin Bus routes operating 24/7), the city and county’s rail transport options (such as the Luas, Irish Rail, or the DART) only operate until around midnight, and in the past have shot down the notion of expanding their hours, claiming that crucial maintenance is conducted when their services are not in use. In this regard, Dublin (and Ireland, broadly) is in step with its European counterparts. With some exceptions, like Berlin, Copenhagen, and Madrid, few European cities offer twenty-four-hour public transport, and, like Dublin, instead provide some additional late-night routes on weekends and holidays, whilst primarily operating within a 5am to midnight schedule. “Dublin’s a little bit behind, overall, on public transport,” Ray says. “Obviously, we have nothing to and from the airport; there’s all talk of the Metro and so on. But I think, when it comes to late-night options, the options are there. We have ten twenty40 four-hour bus routes and there are twelve Nitelinks, which isn’t bad. The taxi service has gotten better, and has improved since Christmas. “The trains, I’m still talking and arguing with them about that. We’ve spoken about a calendar of events when we know there might be a few big nights in the city. They’re amenable to potentially opening more routes on those nights, but they’re not keen on doing it every weekend. But, overall, there’s a couple of options: You can get a taxi, you can get a bus. Maybe people should start walking more, as well. It depends on where you are, I guess. So, I don’t think we’re a million miles behind capital cities in Europe when it comes to public transport options.” The final area we challenged Ray about was private businesses. Whilst, from a consumer’s perspective, it is nice to have as many late-night options as possible, is there is an appetite from business owners, who will have to pay more overhead on additional staff, security, and electricity, to keep the doors open after peak hours? Are there even enough nocturnal workers willing to fill those positions should they arise? “Well, there are already two twenty-fourhour shops on Dame Street, as you probably know,” Ray responds. “There’s the Spar and the Centra. And it shouldn’t only be two twenty-four-hour shops; I think there should be more options, but it’s about, ‘Who’s the pioneer to do that?’ “Maybe they’ll get a little bit of support or funding from the City, or funding from the Department, to encourage that. It’s something that we’ve talked about, about piloting a street with late-night coffee shops. So, these are all feasible, but it’s a slow change. Slow, cultural and behavioural change, as opposed to a magic wand or a silver bullet. “It’s not going to happen overnight, but – what? – twenty, thirty years ago, we might have had the odd petrol station that opened twenty-four hours, and that was it! Now, we at least have a few shops or restaurants to go to at four or five in the morning.” With the incremental change that Ray is bringing about from within the Dublin City Council, we finish the interview by asking him if he has had to make connections with other city or county councils to enact operations that will extend into their administrative areas. For example, a bus travelling only a kilometre or so can swiftly go from the boundaries of Dublin City Council to that of South Dublin County Council. Then there are services like Dublin Bus and the DART, which, despite “Dublin” being in both of their names, extend their services to surrounding counties like Kildare, Wicklow, and Meath. From Ray’s perspective, he envisions what the Dublin City Council are doing expanding and becoming a nationwide net benefit and aims to provide a sustainable blueprint through his work. “At the minute, I’m condublincity.ie dublin.ie dublinnights.ie centrating on Dublin’s City Centre,” he says. “That’s what I’ve been asked to do. It’s Dublin City Council. I’m within the structure of Dublin City Council. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t learn from what we might achieve in Dublin City and bring that into Rathdown [sic], Fingal, and South County Dublin. “There’s already pilots of Night-Time Advisors around the country, so there’s no reason why we can’t learn from either them or what we’re doing in Dublin City. For example, Dublin.ie, which was specifically a place brand within Dublin City Council, has now expanded to all of Dublin, and they’re involved with Fingal, Rathdown and Dún Laoghaire [sic], and South County Dublin. So, there’s no reason why if things work in this pilot, we can’t expand it further and make it work in other towns, villages, cities, wherever else.”