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FOOTFALL IN DUBLIN city dropped by 65.8% between last Monday and yesterday according to new data from Dublin Town.
It said today that most customer-facing businesses in the city – employing some 35,000 people – are now closed, with the exception of those providing essential retail services.
Around 200,000 less people are visiting the city centre each day as remote working and social distancing measures take hold, according to the data.
Retailers big and small have elected to close their shops due to coronavirus fears, with all pubs also shut and most restaurants also closed.
Dublin Town – a group representing businesses in the city – said the decline on Monday 16 March was 37.5%. This rose to 77% on Saturday.
Compared to St Patrick’s Day last year, footfall was down 71.7% this year.
Its data said the streets with the highest concentration of hospitality businesses were impacted. South William Street had a reduction of 85%, while Grafton Street saw a 75% drop in its footfall.
Dublin Town CEO Richard Guiney said: “This is an unprecedented event, starkly illustrated by the dramatic decline in city centre footfall. St. Patrick’s week is traditionally the beginning of the tourist season and one where it’s all hands on deck for many in the hospitality sector. However, this year many businesses within the industry had their doors closed.
“The current emergency is first and foremost a health crisis and the preserving life has to take precedence over all other considerations.
However, we must also do everything in our power to ensure that the economy is ready to rebound rapidly once it is safe to do so. Central to this is assisting employers to retain their skilled and talented workforce. This will require innovative schemes similar to some of those developed in other jurisdictions where employers and the state combine to provide a living wage for those forced out of work.
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Good to see but what are the other 25% doing there?
@Rochelle: working?
@Rochelle: some of us have to go to work, you can also go for a walk a long as you practice social distancing.
@Rochelle: Listen i wouldn’t know but people still have to go into town to get substances, addiction doesnt stop because of quarantine
@Rochelle: massive fail missus!
@Rochelle: If footfall is that far down then they should be closed… Should be closed regardless… Just another example of business over lives… Sick..
Be careful if you are walking in these areas. Footfall way down. Funding way down for those funding alcohol/ drug addiction. My friend accosted by 3 guys yesterday screaming at her for money. No one around to assist her so she just gave them all the money she had. Dangerous aspects to this too
@Getaldine Byrne: shocking hopefully she went to the Gardai. There is good surveillance in the City centre the Gardai would identify them fairly quickly if they are using homeless shelters… if they get are allowed get away with this there will be more victims… needs to be stamped out like the virus
@Getaldine Byrne: No crowds means no easy targets for pick pockets. Drug addicts will become increasingly more desperate. Neighbourhood WhatsApp groups are a great way of keeping everyone informed about criminality in your area. Don’t make it easy for the criminals.
Apparently a factory worker in Galway, who also does taxi, was tested, told to isolate, stayed working and now has tested positive. Should get jail for that
@Declan Edward: Sure aren’t we letting the prisoners out…. Its only the over 70s we are locking down!!
@Declan Edward: If that’s true, he’s probably just put the final nail in the coffin for Galway’s taxi drivers, who were already really struggling. I think he should be prosecuted.
@ImYourNumber1Fan: charged with assault for every passenger he carried .
@ImYourNumber1Fan: now it could also be false, but I’ve heard it from someone close to the situation and from another working in the factory
@Declan Edward: 10 lashing live online for everyone to enjoy…
Same in Galway, I think. The town was pretty much empty yesterday but still a surprisingly large number of beggars on the streets, all from one non-Irish country. Saw them arrive yesterday, congregate in a group of 12 for about 30 minutes and then take up their positions along the streets of Galway (they always sit in the same places).
@ImYourNumber1Fan: and you don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to work out which non irish nationality that is……
@Ray Ridge: They’re Romani, if that’s what you’re implying. Romania has a large population of Romani but not all Romani are Romanians and vice-versa.
@Conor Craddock: if it says Romanian on their passport…..they are Romanian.
@Ray Ridge: but not necessarily Romani, as your post inferred.
@Ray Ridge: But not all Romanians are of the Romany people. By your logic, all Irish people are the same as T ravellers then.
@Claire O: I never said all Romanian are Romani….I said all Romani are Romanian. Come on folks at least read the posts before commenting. As I said whatever is on your passport is your nationality.
@Ray Ridge: I can see your point but you should therefore also see that by referring to them as a nationality, it implies everyone from that nationality as opposed to a subsection from that specific country – original poster just said they were from a certain country and everyone knew what he meant without assuming he meant the entire population. If you don’t see it that way, well ok then, we shall agree to disagree. Stay safe & healthy!
@Ray Ridge: All Romani are *not* Romanian! The Romani originate from the northern Indian subcontinent, from the Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab regions of modern-day India. (Wikipedia)
@FrustratedASDMum: All the Roma gypsies from Romania….. Are Romanian. These are people I’m chatting about. You get it or you don’t.
@Ray Ridge: For some reason im in the mood for Raman.
Good sign but need to do even more in coming days
Now we know why it’s called the “Grafton Quarter”
@Darren: Haha that’s actually funny!!
I got ridiculed for saying the parks should be shut. They are next. Obviously no one out had nurses doctors or front line people in their immediate family, they’d have known better. Businesses like bars and restaurants have already closed , Chippers and coffee shops are only asking for people to come out. Shops only stock the essentials. Anyone going out for a 99 needs their head read. I haven’t seen my folks in 3 weeks. I’ll be damned if I lose them because some tosser feels the need to bring his kids to the park then complains that it was too packed.
@Martin McFly: people should go out as long as they stay well away from others , as me and my wife do , it’s crazy just staying in just stay away f on others
@bmul: there were traffic jams in Wicklow , Phoenix Park, Howth, all the usual spots. If anyone out was diagnosed tomorrow with COVid 19. Including yourself. , and you’ve to give a list of all the places you’ve been in the last 2 weeks… get the picture. People living in the countryside couldn’t get to their own quiet secret parks because they were packed. 1-2-4-8-16-32-64-128- and it goes on and on. That’s the slowed down maths.
@bmul: you have way too much faith in humanity………..telling people to stay away from others clearly isn’t working. Time to get tough.
Excellent people are doing what’s required. The sooner we tackle this virus crisis, the sooner these shops can reopen. Reading this article makes me proud to be Irish when you see the way it’s being handled in the UK.
@John C: maybe before you get on your high house look at what went on yesterday on the prom in Galway and surrounding beaches packed no social distancing.
@John C: The UK definitely isn’t perfect but remember all the Irish that thought it was cool to go to Cheltenham, then the queue of people waiting for fish n chips in Howth yesterday and all the dumb publicans opening up back doors in pubs all across the country. Yeah, the Irish are great
@bmul: I’m not on any high horse. People will always behave differently some will comply with what is required while others won’t. Most sensible people will take the advice from their government and try to follow it as best they can. The issue here is the proper advise and the lack of it from the UK government. Stiff upper lip and all that .. old chap.
@Gerard McAuliffe: yes, but the article would indicate that at least 75% are doing the right thing.
@John C: Northern Ireland are in the UK and they are doing much better than we are in relation to number of cases per head of population.
@Ray Ridge: that’s because they aren’t testing as much. The best way to see what’s going on is to look at the deaths per population.
Were doing slightly better than NI on that statistic.
@Ray Ridge: no they aren’t. I’m up at the sharp end of it.
@John Murphy: Not sure where you got the statistics to show we are doing more testing than they are doing in the North……not sure looking at deaths is the best way to look at it…..whether you live or die from the virus once you have contracted it isn’t really down to government policy or social distancing……however the number of cases is directly linked to how we act and behave. So absolutely the number of cases is a better way to assess a nations performance. But yes your right this is of course directly linked to the number tested.
@Patrick Agnew: less cases per head of pop in the north…… Unless you have figures relating to the number tested North of the border as opposed to the numbers tested here in the south??
@Ray Ridge: the number of completed tests in Northern Ireland as of yesterday was 1,816, or roughly 1 per 1,000. Ireland’s figure currently stands at over 11,000 as of 2 days ago or roughly 2.3 per 1,000. So, yes, we have been far better at testing. Roughly twice the rate.
@Brian Ó Dálaigh: I’ll take your word on it…….we are better at testing at least!!
Sorry now, I’m going to have to rant….what’s the story with smyths staying open….such a magnet for kids and they just having doors open letting people in not a bother….just shut it down, so annoying driving by and seeing people in and out
@Mark Murphy: But where will people get their pokemon cards?
@Mark Murphy: You live in a country run by people who choose profits over people lives…
Meanwhile…… Footfall at supermarkets and beaches and parks up by 75%. Its all a waste of time unless we introduce total shutdown for a minimum of 21 days.
@Ray Ridge: please explain what you mean by total shut down a lot of people using this Lovely sound bite but what does it mean.
@bmul: Nobody allowed out except emergency response crews Medics and police. Get enough supplies in for 21 days. It’s all or nothing. The time for half measures has passed.
@Ray Ridge: so no one building ventilators or other devices needed world wide , no farmers , no petrol stations, no carers , no food shops
@bmul: No couples out for leisurely walks………as i said no body out except those in emergency and essential services. There will be very few ventilators needed if people do what they are told to do.
@Ray Ridge: How do you “get enough supplies for 21 days” if you’re, let’s say, a single parent family on a zero hour contract or relying on social welfare? How do you pay for it?
@FrustratedASDMum: you contact your local charities and arrange for them to deliver the essentials via the gardai. It’s already happening.
@Ray Ridge: so when the rest of the world comes looking we say sorry where closed , we make medical products for the whole world , as for couples going for a walk I do everyday with my wife we stay a long way from anyone else.
@Ray Ridge: How in God’s name would charities manage this? If we look at lone parent families *only*, according to the Dept. Of Social Protection (2017), there are 56,000 lone parents in receipt of One-Parent Family Payment. There are thousands of other people/families who wouldn’t be able to afford 21 days worth of supplies for various reasons. Charities couldn’t manage this and the gardai are under resourced as it is without having to take on the role of a grocery delivery service for thousands of households.
@bmul: we should be closed until this emergency has passed. I’m not suggesting we shutdown for ever.
@FrustratedASDMum: Look I’m not saying you lock your doors and windows and suffocate and starve to death for God sake…………but we cannot carry on packing out supermarkets, and promenades and parks caravan parks like is currently happening or we are all just wasting our time
@Ray Ridge: What you’re describing Ray is martial law. It’s a big card to play and an extremely dangerous one.
This isn’t a totalitarian military state, we can trust our people to do the right thing, people have to live too, you know. Taking your child to the park is good for both the parent and the child, just keep more than 3ft away from other people, it’s not a super virus that hunts it’s prey.
@Sean Fahey: 2 metres is approximately 6 and a half feet….. Not 3 feet. You see the problem with that is if everybody brings their child to the park its impossible to obey the distances. Also we cannot trust our people to do the right thing unfortunately….. 18 people threw out of a house party by gardai in a Midlands town to give you just one example.
@Ray Ridge: I agree Ray we can’t get everyone to comply without forcing them, there are also varying advice on “safe” distance, but for the most part we have to trust people. In instances of mass gatherings that you mention, bring in emergency legislation to fine the property owner €1,000 per attendee if there are more than 3 visitors at any one time. Should knock it in the head fairly sharpish.
Any fines that are collected go towards buying the ventilators to offset the recklessness.
My husband has to go to work he reckons they could stop by this Friday…mortgage, Bill’s the list is endless However were not alone we are all in this together ..stay safe everyone
Good
Wow, really scraping the barrel now ehhh… Real Sherlock Homes stuff this…
“What do religious believers do, especially at a time like this? They pray for God’s grace, that He may bring good from bad, and yet more good from what is already good” David Quinn on Twitter
@John Devaney: The rest of us just get on with it…
Limerick City centre has been like this for 15 years but the government never seemed too bothered about it.
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