Laoise Neylon

All the listings were around the Liberties, including a whole block on Long’s Place. They weren’t up anymore on Tuesday night.

Some residents of Gloucester Square have been documenting illegal short-term letting in their apartment complex, and pushing for someone – anyone – to do something about it so they can sleep again.

That idea appears to be based on a misuse of statistics by Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy, which was further distorted in the media.

The developer of this part of the site, Hines, said there was a misprint in its application and it will fulfil its obligations.

If it goes ahead, it would mean 50 or so homes through a cost-rental model.

“Could you imagine anyone in the affluent areas of Dublin allowing their children to go to school beside an injecting centre?” said Sinn Féin Councillor Críona Ní Dhálaigh.

“There is this talk of social mix, but … there is no concerted effort to hold onto the fabric of the long generations of families who have lived here,” says Máirín Ó Cuireáin, a community worker.

Records also show that council officials were warned that a lack of clarity over the memorial could hinder the sale of the site.

The guest of honour this time will be the American writer Joyce Carol Oates, winner of the National Book Award and the Bram Stoker Award.

Some are concerned that many workers on building sites are falsely being classed as self-employed to keep costs down. It means they’ll miss out on supports if they lose their jobs.

There are no statues of women on O’Connell Street, and none of 1916 leaders. Some Dublin city councillors say it’s time, at last, to change that.

The Garda Press Office said they aren’t running a specific operation right now. But some say Gardaí have been more active in moving people on, and charging them with begging-related offences.

New standards for homeless services call for feedback from people who use them. But some say they’re afraid they’ll be punished if they complain to officials.

The planned improvements include more trees, extra space for pedestrians, bike parking, and a small park with a new café.

The plan is to sell the council-owned property to be developed by a hotel company, but councillors have the power to put a stop to this, and several say they’d like to.

Sonia Traynor feels she was duped into accepting the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme, which offers no more stability than any other private rented tenancy.

Several restaurant managers said that they need to try out workers to see if they are any good. Some employees say this is unfair.

“It was awesome,” said Alex Traynor, aged nine. He couldn’t rate the performance, he said because “there is not a number big enough”.

Dáil constituencies in Dublin have been redrawn, and candidates for the next general election hope they’re better off. But there’s one who probably isn’t.

The council has started to work on a new local area plan for the neighbourhood.

Some councillors have raised concerns that those reliant on the rent subsidy are just as vulnerable to evictions as other tenants.

This would be a move towards decentralisation of government services for homeless people in the city, which some people say would make their lives better.

While he was lord mayor of Dublin last year, Labour’s Brendan Carr announced a scheme to promote businesses who paid the living wage by awarding them with a plaque.

Others say it doesn’t matter what type of organisations are running these new homeless hostels for families, as long as the quality of service is good, and they are well monitored.

Residents across the north-east inner city have seen a few new murals lately, with more to come: €80,000 has been set aside by Dublin City Council.

Dublin City Councillors are currently looking at who gets social housing in the city, and whether there’s a fairer way to decide.

They already backed plans for 50 percent private housing on the site, but hope to rework that and make it 100-percent public housing.

The squeeze in the private-rental sector means that those who run the programme for rough-sleepers must rely on social housing. Which isn’t always easy.

“When you have regulation of the entertainment industry from 1935 it’s definitely outdated,” says Constantin Gurdgiev. “The social conditions which might have warranted the regulation no longer exist,” he says.

Recent figures for different neighbourhoods show that low-income tenants who rely on rent-subsidies are far from spread evenly across the city.

Social-housing tenants in Dublin should be involved in running the estates and complexes they live in, says independent Councillor Mannix Flynn. “This is about equality, empowerment and full participation.”

Many of the 15 works in “In Public, In Particular” touch on issues of gentrification and the erosion of working-class ways of life. The exhibition is on this Thursday and Friday.

Early next year, Shane Reilly and Killian Stokes plan to launch an app to let customers in Ireland trace their coffee right back to the farmer who produced it, through the roasters, washers and transport workers, to their cups.

Over the years, there hasn’t been a uni-directional Christmas Creep in the city centre. It’s been more like a Christmas Ebb and Flow.

Gardeners used to be judged on the shortness of their grass and how perfect everything was, says Michael Noonan. Now, they’re letting some patches go wild.

Some say they’d gladly move into a hostel if they could get a decent one, where couples could stay together, where recovering addicts don’t have to bunk with users, where they wouldn’t just get kicked out each day and have to start all over again.

One woman sent the council links to 20 properties on Airbnb but was told that the council couldn’t follow it up.

Two reggae fans built themselves a massive Jamaican-style sound system. Problem is, it’s so big, and so loud, they have trouble finding a venue for it in Dublin.

A community garden, allotments, and a Men’s Shed are being evicted so the council can build a new park. The plan includes bringing them back once it’s ready, but recent events have the gardeners worried.

In July this year, Waterways Ireland raised the water level to prevent people from sleeping or doing drugs under Binns Bridge, where Dorset Street crosses the Royal Canal.

Nicki Killeen and her team research trends in drug taking in Ireland, so that they can respond with clear, credible information and advice for users.

Colleges have different policies on whether students who withdraw get their money back. “There is a lack of regulation in this area, and that is of concern,” says Oisin Hassan at the Union of Students in Ireland.

It hasn’t been easy to find places to put new hostels, says independent Councillor Christy Burke, who also volunteers helping homeless people.

Many council-owned apartments are sitting empty in ageing complexes scheduled to be torn down and rebuilt in the coming years. Some argue that people could live in them in the meantime.

It looks like a pub is set to reappear on the Four Corners of Hell in the Liberties, and councillors at a recent meeting considered plans for development in Bluebell.

Sunniva Finlay and her team have noticed how tough it is for people recovering from substance-abuse issues to find decent work. So they’re trying to plug that gap.

For those who are attacked or intimidated in their homes, it can seem that there is not enough is done to prevent the abuse from escalating.

An ornate silver and gold cup in the National Museum of Ireland remains a catalyst for theories about the mythical vessel.

In Rathmines, Stoneybatter, and Clontarf, some residents argue that one way to keep order is to keep strangers out.

Stall holders in Temple Bar Square have seen a lot of changes over the years. They’re hopeful that plans to renovate the square will mean an even merrier book market.

There are 11,000 craft apprentices in Ireland right now but just 29 of those are women, according to government statistics.

Here’s some of what councillors discussed at their Central Area Committee’s meeting this month.

In mid-October, John Conroy will be running a day of free tours to share what he has learnt about the architecture and uses of the iconic red-brick building.

A copy of an independent fire inspector’s report, released under the Freedom of Information Act, does not appear to clear the building as fire-safe and ready for occupancy.

The council owns 11 hectares in Belmayne, perhaps enough for 1,000 new homes. One councillor wonders why the council isn’t working faster to develop it.

This Thursday’s event will celebrate the life of Sherie De Burgh, and raise funds to support one-parent families.

Being treated as self-employed and if-and-when contracts make working in the sector a struggle, say some.

As government thinks about how best to regulate the conversion of apartments from homes into short-term holiday lets, companies continue their conversions.

While there are concerns about how a planned redevelopment of Newmarket Square will affect local businesses, the developers behind the project say it will be good for everybody.

Some argue that the way the government currently gets social housing from some developers is bad value for money.

From flexible schedules to less testing, one service is trying to make methadone treatment as accessible as possible for Dublin’s homeless.

Dublin City Council plans to transform the beautiful Victorian market building from a wholesale spot into a retail attraction. Current traders say they may not survive the changes.

Anti-homelessness campaigner Fr Peter McVerry says he’s surprised Tusla is still referring children to night-time-only hostels.

The Cock and Pussy Manifesto, which includes equal numbers of artworks devoted to female genitalia and male genitalia, runs until 23 September at Gallery X.

After a decade running record label and concert promoter Ergodos from wherever they could, the pair have settled into a more permanent home.

Architect Gregory Jackson wants to roll-out a co-housing project in Foxrock. But there are challenges.

The housing charity Threshold says it’s had an increased number of calls from people who are being evicted on the grounds of “substantial refurbishment”.

The heroic warrior Oisín tossed a boulder to the top of a mountain. Now artist Ciarán Taylor wants people to join him in carrying a new boulder up there, one small stone at a time.

It can be hard for those seeking an apprenticeship to work out how to get one. Some are working to change that.

“Our research repeatedly shows that the largest single cause of family homelessness is landlords selling up and using loopholes in the law to evict families,” says Mike Allen of Focus Ireland.

“If we sit in the shadows no one will see us. This is the point of the exhibition,” says Priya.

“People are sitting on assets and they don’t need the rent,” says Francis Doherty, communications officer at the Peter McVerry Trust.

Dublin City Council has fined waste-collection companies only 26 times in the last two years, according to a council press officer.

Those behind the Trans Live Art Salon want to spread the work of trans and gender non-conforming artists. As part of the Dublin Fringe Festival, they’re creating a space to do that.

Children from across Dublin could soon be mucking in to take care of a few goats, a couple of pigs, a flock of ducks, and a brood of hens.

Councillors backed a plan for a play park commemorating the children who died in 1916, and one for housing in Ballyfermot, and heard about plans for Bridgefoot Street Park.

Artist Kerry Guinan sent out a spoof email, impersonating the Hugh Lane Gallery in order to critique corporate involvement in the arts.

At a meeting Monday, councillors clashed with managers over whether to close the laneway, and were denied information about plans to build housing on the Oscar Traynor Road site.

Held monthly at the Clockwork Door in the city centre, Vybrations is a casual event that encourages poets to get up and express themselves.

The government promised €5 million a year for three years to address the area’s troubles, based on the Mulvey report’s recommendations. Community groups say this doesn’t go far enough.

“Sleeping bags are provided to clients as a humanitarian response when there is no accommodation available,” says the DRHE. But rough-sleepers say that doesn’t always happen.

Gardaí can take minor offenders to court, and they have quite a bit of discretion, which leaves room for possible bias based on race, class or ethnicity.

Falling Fruit locates unwanted fruit in back gardens and orchards around Dublin, and gets it to people who want it. The organisation is looking for more volunteers.

Dublin City Councillors sometimes agree to sell off a property with the proviso that the buyer must start redeveloping it within months. That doesn’t always happen.

In Kilmainham and Santry, residents have objected to festivals and events, but some argue that they can bring benefits to an area.

Residents and a local councillor say they have been trying for years to get rid of the busted-up, broken-down (but working) payphones, which they say attract illegal dumping.

Some letting agents don’t limit the number of people invited to viewings of up-for-rent homes, so as many as 100 might show up. Some say it’s fair, others that it’s heartless.

In cities such as Belfast and Glasgow, only a small number of beds for homeless people are night-time-only. Can, and should, we move away from them here?

At recent meetings, some Dublin councillors passed three motions opposing plans to move homeless families into “hubs”, and also looked at several other issues.

While councillors supported sprucing up a park and a square and adding a greenway, residents say there’s a need to address a growing divide between established and new residents.

For most of the last century, nightclubs were supposed to stop the music, turn on the lights, and give clubbers a late-night dinner. That really confused Fatboy Slim.

Council officials, councillors, and local campaigners have different ideas for how to put a full-sized pitch on the funny-shaped site at St Teresa’s Gardens.

As Dublin City Council rolls out its nine planned “family hubs”, some are asking who is going to be keeping an eye on standards and child-protection.

Research shows that many people who have substance-use issues also have underlying psychiatric conditions. There are hopeful signs the government is working on a new service for such “dual-diagnosis” patients.

One woman says she got chicken from the direct-provision centre’s shop that was two months past-date. The centre’s management refutes this in “the strongest possible terms”.

A project by developer Hines in Cherrywood, for example, got €15.19 million in funding, meant to encourage affordable housing, for which there is as yet no plan in place.

Years of cuts have taken their toll on the community. Those who live and work there have ideas for what the neighbourhood needs.

A council plan to turn a vacant lot into a community park is out for public consultation, and Richard Taplin wants as many people as possible to have their say.

As part of a development including student accommodation, the building is being restored and turned into offices for nearby Teeling Whiskey.

Tusla says 36 percent of foster children in the area don’t have up-to-date care plans. HIQA says it’s 13 percent. Both figures are bad compared to the national average.

They could mean more convenience for drivers and more efficient use of space, but also loss of revenue for the council and more cars in the city.

Five artists took the story of how twenty-four icons came to Ireland as their springboard, creating works that reflect on displacement, conflict, and more.

A plan to give the golf course to a private operator who wants to introduce footgolf conflicts with a plan to eliminate it to make way for a cycle path.

Takara is Johny Xin and Jimmy Pei’s second restaurant in the city.

Councillors are frustrated with the time it takes Dublin City Council to deal with requests for changes to street markings and traffic patterns. Thousands are pending.

There’s a plan to build “affordable” housing on some council lands. But what does “affordable” mean, who would build it, and who would live there?

What board games look like has become almost as important as the rules. As Dublin artist Jim Fitzpatrick has learnt.

Over a May weekend, Natalie de Roiste wants Dubliners to step out and give tours of their Dublin, from bricklayers to commuters, teenagers to refugees.

While obstacles discouraging their owners from opening them up and renting them out seem well understood, progress on smoothing the way has been slow.

After a pilot at Mosney, a new system for providing food to asylum seekers may be rolled out to other centres. But many have unanswered questions about how, and why, it has been set up.

Even while there’s a shortage of housing for Dubliners, companies have converted residential apartment blocks in the city into holiday lets for tourists.

At a meeting earlier this week, some residents and local politicians met to organise against the possible closure of post offices in Cabra.

“I’m curious as to why this is happening … suddenly there’s a load of it. Is it EU grant led?” asks a reader.

Maybe not, say some transport experts. It might just mean using prime land to park cars that’ll be replaced by others on the roads into the centre.

Some councillors fear that a lack of resources is meaning the closure of the Crumlin area office by stealth.

It takes Rafea Abdelrazek weeks to make his air-dried, spice-crusted beef.

Dublin City Council and the Department of Housing are looking at further regulating Airbnb, amid concerns it could be contributing to the housing shortage.

At recent committee meetings, councillors talked about new places to put homeless accommodation, and a packed house in Portobello.

Some cities offer rough-sleepers lockers to keep their belongings safe. But in Dublin, those who sleep on the streets have to fend for themselves.

Some councillors have been weighing in for free on planning applications, but council management says they should have been paying €20 each time.

Some Dubliners are seeking out what they see as healthier hot drinks, and trying to cut out the caffeine.

Even if Dubliners could stomach a mass shooting, not everyone thinks it would be effective.

Councillors say they are waiting to see whether the promised roll-out happens.

The Leaving Cert art curriculum fails to prepare students for the art world, says Jennie Guy. Through her programme Art School, she’s pushing for it to improve.

Trees, a cafe, seating and facilities for market stall holders could all be put in, if the funding is found.

There were no beds available for women in homeless hostels on 15 February, according to Dublin Regional Homeless Executive. And some say it wasn’t a one-night problem.

After discontent last summer, councillors and residents seem to be happy with the plans for the large vacant sites near the Oliver Bond flats.

Developers can apply for waivers so they can do construction work late at night and early in the morning. Some residents say their sanity isn’t being taken into account.

Through his open-mic night, David Halpin is trying to provide a route for performers from their bedrooms to big stages.

Six cyclists have logged accidents on our cycle-collision tracker that mentioned potholes or uneven surfaces, and another cyclist mentioned cobblestones.

Rough sleepers and people living in emergency accommodation are counted as homeless. But couch-surfers, squatters, car-sleepers and many others are left out of the statistics.

Holly Dalton is delighted that 3fe is the first in Dublin to be recognised as “sustainable” by the UK-based Sustainable Restaurants Association (SRA). She hopes others will follow.

Some businesses say displaying art is a way to help their artist friends sell commission-free canvases. For others, it’s a free way to decorate a room or two.

Dublin City Councillors have agreed to sell the old Aungier House pub on the corner of Aungier Street and Digges Street. The new owners have plans.

Best practice standards that relate to sharing rooms, outlined in 1999, are still not being adhered to 18 years on.

The Central Bank building and the plaza below it have been sold to private developers, and some Dubliners worry about what that means for public use of the plaza.

Back in November, Labour Councillor Mary Freehill kicked off a meeting with a complaint about the amount of food on offer. But what do councillors usually get?

The Kilbarrack Coast Community Programme’s conflict with its landlord leave it uncertain how long it will be able to continue operating.

The number of allotments in Dublin has been growing, but not fast enough to meet demand – waiting lists can be long. Dublin City Council is working on that.

Literary parks, destination playgrounds, and a sculpture park are all mooted in a draft plan for parks that is out for public consultation at the moment.

But did the government push Apollo House residents to the front of the queue? A look at Dublin’s two-tiered system of emergency accommodation for homeless people.

When Dublin City Council says that less than 1 percent of its housing stock is “void”, some Dubliners are confused. That might be because of how it counts.

Many people in Dublin work in the creative economy, which runs at night, and “you have to have services that support that”, says DIT transport planning lecturer David O’Connor.

It was once “a hive of industry”, a neighbour said. But the buildings went derelict one after another during the 1980s and 1990s, says a local business owner.

Nageh Shaaban opened his restaurant, Oasis, in 2013. But he believes that word is just starting to spread.

Some called such sprinklers a “disgrace”, but the shop’s staff say after years of finding faeces and needles, “our priority is the well-being and safety of our staff”.

Some decisions in Dublin City Council are discussed behind closed doors at meetings to which the public and the media are not invited.

Dublin City Council is still working out whether to move ahead with the homes on big boats for students, workers, or tourists. But as the city debates it, Dun Laoghaire is pressing ahead.

No matter who sits down on the red twisty stools by the counter of Little Mac’s in George’s Arcade, Alan Smartt seems to find something to talk to them about.

The queue people once waited for hours in for the immigration office has been abolished, replaced with an online appointment system that requires weeks of waiting.

The idea underpinning the school is that there is no need to teach children. Given the right tools and supports, they will teach themselves and each other.

Innovative Solutions recruits tasters of all ages, from adults to judge Guinness, to children to rate jelly sweets with smiles or frowns.

Many have dismissed calls by councillor Mannix Flynn for the band to break with its past. Others say it’s time to listen to survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

Some households in the inner city don’t have room for bins, so they’ve been given exemptions to keep using bags. But they’re still being pushed to switch.

“It’s closer, cheaper and better than the supermarkets,” says student Sarah McCabe.

A woman searches for the truth about her mother’s time in Stanhope Street.

Several programmes are trying to make refugees feel welcome, and Irish people feel welcoming, by fostering friendships between newcomers and locals.

There was an almost 100-percent increase between 2013 and 2015 in the number of Traveller families living on unofficial sites in Dublin.

Twenty-nine Dublin restaurants are taking part in Dine in the Dark to raise money for the National Council for the Blind.

Belfast has specific rules for “houses of multiple occupancy” but Dublin doesn’t. Even though the housing crisis means many are crammed into shared spaces.

The spooky Eerie audio tour leads you through the streets of the south inner city, with tales of ghostly Dublin – and puzzles.

This simple, low-budget film lasts just 38 minutes but it covers a lot of ground. It’s being screened in Temple Bar on Tuesday 25 October.

Some residents in Churchtown say they’re being turned away from their newly opened local pub, but there’s not much they can do about it.

There is an acute housing shortage across the city, but there are also some homes that are affordable for couples on average wages. How is that?

A recent survey on the potential impact of transport changes on city-centre retail produced positive feedback. But some retailers still aren’t convinced.

“For bands like us its more difficult because there are fewer other places we can go,” says Mutefish guitarist Bo Stelmach.

Car washes are supposed to have licences to regulate pollution. Many in Dublin don’t have them.

Dublin-based DJ Calvin James has been volunteering in northern Syria, and is now back in Ireland raising funds. Should we all be following his example?

There are several fora for residents to tell Gardai what’s troubling them. But councillors in the inner city say attendance has dropped, and they’re looking for ways to fix that.

This weekend, it will have been a century since Dublin Mean Time was erased. Ten women sound artists will commemorate the occasion with a performance at Richmond Barracks.

“If you eat lunch in here you don’t need to have any dinner,” says owner Hamo Muhadzic.

After a couple of summers of pilot markets, councillors want to press ahead with more regular stalls on the underused square by the canal.

Inside the newly reopened Lincoln’s Inn, owners Ian Lacey and Shane McCloughlin have acknowledged its literary legacy without descending into garish excess.

After a month off, councillors returned to City Hall on Monday evening for their first full meeting after the summer holidays. Here are some of the issues they discussed.

If you live in the inner city, you might be familiar with the problem: a pile of empty bottles in your bin, and no place to recycle them. Why aren’t there any bottle banks nearby?

“If someone genuinely needs to make a call, they can get up and go outside like a smoker does,” says Stephen Mooney of The Gingerman on Fenian Street.

With only two scientific staff members left at the Natural History Museum, the 19th century relic is struggling to fulfill its mission.