It only requires a short walk through Dublin city centre to confirm the extent to which so many of its streets are blighted by dereliction, decay and under-use. Their inaction is not victimless; it inflicts real social harm. Those failures have been repeated at local government level, where Dublin City Council (DCC), which itself owns a significant number of vacant properties, has struggled to devise a strategy that has real impact. In today’s Irish Times, Dublin Editor Olivia Kelly reports on DCC’s fresh approach. Two streets – Middle Abbey Street and North Frederick Street – have been selected as pilot areas for concentrated regeneration.

Source: The Irish Times April 04, 2026 14:00 UTC