Dublin needs more suitable green spaces for people living in apartments, an MEP has said.
Ciarán Cuffe, the Green MEP for the capital, called on Dublin City Council to develop more "pocket parks" in response to the growing number of apartments in the city.
Speaking to Newstalk radio, he said there was very little outside space for residents living in Dublin's apartments, maybe a small balcony if they were lucky.
“I think we need to think again about the kind of green spaces that should be made available. And these small pocket parks, handkerchief parks, I think are a very practical way of responding to this new need.”
When asked whether developers or the city council should fund such parks, Mr Cuffe said sometimes the developer could make available the land. “But I think actually there's an opportunity to reclaim some of the space that we've lost to car parking over the last many years where a huge amount of space that could be used for recreation or amenity has been taken over by surface car parking.
"In some cities like Copenhagen, Amsterdam, we've seen the local authority take back some space and make it available to families and children rather than simply the dead space that's only used for parking. So I think there's a real opportunity there.
"I think there's a lot of other things we should think about as well. I've suggested very simple things like making available more bins within our parks, making available water fountains, because I think there is a need for that as well.
“And finally, one of the important issues I draw attention to is the need to phase out the use of weedkillers like glyphosate, which take a wholly scorched earth approach to our way of life. We've seen real progress on that in the last few years and the use of alternatives to weed killers. But I'd like to see a lot more of that done, particularly when there's kids around.”
Mr Cuffe agreed there needed to be a change in attitude towards public areas by the local authority and pointed out that green spaces were frequently closed because of a fear of anti-social behaviour.
“I think that is changing. I certainly remember back 10 years ago, people would allow their pets, their dogs, to simply defecate on the footpath and if you said something to them, they would kind of say, ‘why should I clean up after my dog?’ But I don't think that would happen now, or it would happen a lot less now. So I think attitudes are changing.
“We're realising the importance of the small amounts of green space and the public realm that we have. Even the words public realm certainly weren't used that often a decade ago. So I think attitudes are changing.
“I think with a rise in immigration of people coming from Central Europe and elsewhere, many of those who have come to Ireland have, dare I say it, I think, a more enlightened approach to how we manage space in our towns and cities.”
He added: “We're seeing cafes being put in our parks, which was unthinkable a while ago.”
