Tom Shehan (Fine Gael)

It is almost unprecedented for a Kerryman to be on O'Connell Street in Dublin in May - we usually visit in September - but I had reason to be on the main thoroughfare of the capital last evening. What I witnessed last night, between drunks, winos, people strung out on drugs and beggars, was shocking. We are trying to sell a tourism product. I met a couple from Australia who compared O'Connell Street to the streets of another European city they had visited recently where the lady had a gold chain whipped from around her neck. I was fearful walking up the street with a colleague at 9 p.m. last night. There is a Garda station on O'Connell Street and I saw gardaí in the vicinity who did nothing to address the problem. One could not travel 20 m. without meeting someone begging for money or strung out and lying on the footpath.