There are over twenty vacant premises on two of Dublin's busiest shopping streets.
Grafton Street and Henry Street currently have twenty-four empty units between them.
I counted 24 vacant premises on Grafton St and Henry St.
Dublin Town say planning needs to be changed to allow cafes & restaurants there.
While one trader (who has been on Grafton St for 40 years) says it’s the worst dereliction they’ve ever seen.
Is the High St finished? pic.twitter.com/jHLWQQyJbx
— Barry Whyte (@BarryWhyte85) June 10, 2022
Catherine Caffey has run a flower stall on Grafton Street for forty years. She says the dereliction is the worst she has ever seen;
"There's a lot of closed shops, boarded up and it's a shame to see where before they were only closed for a very short time but now they're closed up and it doesn't seem to be any way of them opening up again."
Business group Dublin Town says remote working has had a huge impact on footfall returning to pre pandemic levels.
Chief executive Richard Guiney says the city council should change the planning laws to allow restaurants and cafes open along Grafton Street and Henry Street;
"This is a category one retail street in the planning designation and there may be a need to look at that and have other uses as well"
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