The new Lord Mayor of Dublin marked his first week in office by saying that gardaí need more power to deal with unruly teenagers who are responsible for arson attacks and acts of vandalism across the capital.
On Monday last, Daryl Barron became the 359th Lord Mayor of Dublin, succeeding outgoing mayor Ray McAdam. The long-time member of Fianna Fáil, who is married to a garda, says he will soon be meeting with Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan to address the issue of crime in Dublin.
“We’ve a lot of work to do in the city,” he says. “It’s very important to me that businesses are getting the flow of traffic coming in. And they won’t get that if people don’t feel safe coming in to the city.”
And it’s not just the city centre, he says. He points to the suburbs as also being in dire need of high-visibility garda patrols.
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Fianna Fáil councillor Daryl Barron elected Lord Mayor of Dublin
Following a spate of arson attacks on Dublin’s playgrounds and other public facilities, he says gardaí need more powers to deal with unruly under-18s.
“Kids are so brazen sometimes, and guards have told me that they’ll go, ‘Na na, you can’t get me because I’m under 16.’ I think we need to look at that seriously. It’s a criminal issue, it’s arson,” he says.
“I’ve said it before that surveillance is probably the way forward. But I also think we have to be honest with ourselves, that mammies and daddies need to know where their kids are.”
He said he will be raising the issue at his next meeting with Jim O’Callaghan, and will also be pushing for the introduction of a dedicated transport police unit.
He is also in favour of a new proposed tourist tax in Dublin. A charge of up to €5 a night at Dublin hotels would put them on a par with those in Venice, and bring in millions of euro of revenue.
“The way I look at it is that you go to Amsterdam, New York — any of these major cities or world capitals — and you might pay €30 for a two- or three-night stay.
“I think our local ratepayers and businesses deserve other funding streams so we can invest in the public realm, invest in cleanliness,” he says. “And I think that would need to be ring-fenced to deal with improving our infrastructure within and around the city centre.
“The decision needs to come from Government. And I will be working very hard with the Government on that. I’ve spoken to the ministers at length on this before.”
Dublin’s newly elected Lord Mayor Daryl Barron. © Steve Humphreys
Asked if he believes the Government will support his plans, he says he is optimistic.
“I believe so. I think it will come. But we’ve work to do to get it right. We need to be equitable and do it across the board. And for me, the most equitable way is charging the tourists that come into the country. And into Dublin in particular.”
He says the extra €15m to €20m a year could “really drive change in the city centre”.
A few short days into his tenure, the 33-year-old cuts an earnest, humble figure. It is clear that Dublin’s fourth-youngest mayor has a deep personal connection with the role. That link comes via his father, Donal, who worked for four decades in Dublin City Council’s housing department.
Sadly, he never saw his son take up the office, as he died five years ago from colon cancer.
“He was always bound by a duty of service,” says Mr Barron. “Even after he was diagnosed, he continued to work, right up until two or three months before he died.
“This whole organisation — the city council — was in his DNA. He lived and breathed it. He loved the organisation, and that seeped into me.”
That emotion was clear on the floor of the council chamber on Monday night, when he first donned the mayor’s weighty gold chain. Mr Barron recalls seeing former mayor Nial Ring, a close personal friend of his father, tearing up during proceedings.
“I was thinking ‘I can’t keep looking at him, or I’m going to break down.’ So I looked over at my mam, and she was even worse. So I had to look at the floor,” he says.
Mr Barron’s grandfather and great-grandfather also worked for Dublin Corporation for decades, making him the fourth generation of his family to pass through the local authority.
“You know, I’m actually hoping to go up to the graveyard today to visit them, with the Lord Mayor’s chain. I’ll have a bit of time to pause and reflect,” he said.
I always liked Bertie Ahern’s practical approach to politics. He got things done
He has been a member of Fianna Fáil for “his entire adult life” he says, and even met his wife Orla, through an Ógra Fianna Fáil event. The couple settled in Donaghmede five years ago, where they live with their one-year-old son, Niall — but they’re looking forward to moving into the Mansion House in the next few weeks.
Being a northside Fianna Fáiler, he has a lot of time for Bertie Ahern.
“I always liked his practical approach to politics, and very much liked how he got things done,” he says.
“I always respected his sense of duty. And for me, that’s the grá for politics — the sense of trying to make the city and the country a better place. That always had a big attraction for me, making a difference.”
Mr Barron works as a financial adviser with Bank of Ireland, but has taken a step back from his day job to focus on the mayoralty.
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“I wouldn’t be someone with a big ego. I’m not someone that will talk for Ireland,” he says. “But when I do talk, it’s important that you know what I’m saying is true to myself.”
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
