Four new seating areas will open in Dublin city centre today, the specially designed areas will include picnic benches and will facilitate outdoor-dining by members of the public.
People can rest and refresh in a secure environment with parasols overhead to protect them from the weather.
The seating areas are located in Dublin Castle (inside the main gate), the Mansion House forecourt, Capel Street (between the junctions of Parnell St and Ryders Row) and lower O'Connell Street.
The structures will be dismantled Monday to Friday to allow normal business and alcohol consumption will not be allowed in the seating areas.
The project from Dublin City Council is called ‘A Seat for You’.
The seating areas will remain open for public use on Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 8pm beginning today, and running initially for four weeks. Up to 30 people can be facilitated at any one time in each area.
The initiative is part of a programme from the Office of City Recovery.
Speaking at the launch of the initiative outside the Mansion House today, the Lord Mayor Hazel Chu said: “I welcome the introduction of the four new seating areas in the city and am particularly happy to have one on the forecourt of the Mansion House. It is vitally important for older people and also families with children, to be able to sit down, relax and refresh during their visit to the city. In the midst of the excitement that Dublin offers, these little oasis are wonderful and I encourage people to use them and to enjoy the Dublin experience.”
