The establishment of a new body to oversee the rejuvenation of Dublin City Centre has been approved by Government.
The entity, which will operate under Dublin City Council, will be responsible for delivering a number of recommendations made by the Dublin City Taskforce last year.
It will have a role in supporting the OPW in the redevelopment of the GPO on O'Connell Street into a key visitor destination.
The surroundings around the GPO will also be redeveloped, along with the regeneration of social housing complexes in the city centre.
Derelict sites will be converted into high-density residential areas where homes for essential workers will be a priority.
It will also have a role in the delivery of other established projects such as the Parnell Square Cultural Quarter, a food market at the former fruit and vegetable market at Smithfield and the regeneration of Moore Street.
The Government will develop proposals for a tourist tax to help pay for its operation, a project team is being established immediately and the measures are due to be delivered throughout the next decade.
There is a pledge too that policing will be more visible, and there will be "better located services" for vulnerable people.
Former Lord Mayor of Dublin and TD for Dublin Bay South James Geoghegan said he believes the establishment of the new entity was the first step in improving the capital.
"I think we have to be truthful there are parts of our city that are broken and what we are doing today is trying to fix those problem," he said.
"The city council on its own hasn't been capable to meet all the challenges that we face, but the proof will be, is there less vacancy, is there less dereliction, does the city feel safer is it a city that we can all be proud of."
The Chief Executive of Dublin City Council Richard Shakespeare that some of the measures in the Taskforce report such as an increased garda presence and more funding for street cleaning have been implemented but that the new body would help deliver more for Dublin than the council alone can achieve
"In our case and like most local authorities we deliver about 900 different services across the Dublin city region on a daily basis and it is to give a single focus to this is that we are trying to achieve," he said.
The Irish Hotels Federation has said that there are no grounds for introducing an additional tourist tax due to the "massive cost increases" experienced by the industry in recent years.
One of its members Peter Collins, General Manager of the Academy Plaza Hotel just off O'Connell Street in Dublin said Ireland needs to remain a competitive tourist destination and that any additional increase in taxes increases cost for visitors and erodes our competitiveness.
"I'm all for rejuvenating the city but there are certainly other ways of doing it. You're hitting one sector you're hitting the visitor that's coming in. Twenty-nine percent of what the visitors spends on their trips is already going back to the exchequer in every euro . So were already contributing a lot already," he said.
Meanwhile, opposition politicians have expressed concern about the establishment of the new body.
Green Party Councillor in Dublin City Council Feljin Jose said: "Its incredibly frustrating that the elected members of Dublin City Council haven't been told anything about this new entity, what powers it will have or what oversight Dublin City Council will have over it, if any."
"We have plenty of agencies and ideas in Dublin. Its funding and the powers needed to implemented things that we needs. To deliver real change, we need to completely reform how local government works in the city," he added.
Labour MEP for Dublin Aodhán Ó Ríordáin accused the Government of making an "empty announcement" rather than bringing about "real delivery".
"This Government announcement shows once again that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are quick to complain about the state of Dublin, but blind to the fact that they caused this decay in the first place.
"Dublin feels unsafe because Fine Gael gutted community policing. People cant get housed because Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have failed on housing," he said.
"Our arts venues are closing, schools can't find teachers, and Dublin City Council is starved of funds — all because of Fine Gael's choices."
He welcomed what he described as "any real plan" that tackles dereliction, adding: "but let’s be clear: these empty sites that should become homes for essential workers are a top priority."
"Nurses, teachers, gardaí, these are the people who keep Dublin running and yet can’t afford to live here. That must change. Once again, though, we see a press release instead of real governance," he said.
"There’s talk of a new agency, but why aren’t the elected representatives of Dublin City Council entrusted with this work?"
