Dublin could become rubbish-free within a 20-month period, if a system credited with the transformation of New York's once grimy pavements gets Government backing here. That's the view of Tom Coffey, chief executive of Dublin City Centre Business Association.

If the Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) programme is incorporated into Irish legislation after it comes before the Dβil later this year, commercial rate-payers could have to pay a special levy towards the upkeep of their district, which would supplement existing State-provided cleaning and other services, says Coffey.

While the New York BIDs have had the highest profile, they also operate in the downtown and business areas of a number of other US cities.

Under the US system, a levy can only be imposed if at least 51 per cent of business owners in an improvement district approve. Each Business Improvement District has a non-profit board of directors, made up of representatives from private enterprise, local government authorities, residents' associations and education bodies.

A business plan is developed for each district, which must be passed by the board.

Dublin city centre is already divided into nine BIDs, overseen by the Dublin City Centre Business Association, but without the backing of legislation, it is difficult get all businesses in an area involved.

Litter control is only one aspect of a BIDs strategy but, if introduced here, city centre boards could find they are ploughing 80 per cent of their funds into cleaning the streets in the initial years, says Coffey.

"The first years are often about improving the standard of an area's appearance. Time-consuming projects are often tackled first - like removing blobs of black, hardened chewing-gum from the streets, which has to be sprayed and then lifted off with a chisel.

"After year three, the hard work will have been done and it will be more a case of maintenance. Districts can then spend money promoting and marketing their area. Dublin Corporation will do the big clean and each BID will pay contractors to maintain that level of cleanliness."

Coffey, who lived in New York when it was "dirty and unsafe", says he noticed a "stunning improvement" when he went back there on a recent fact-finding trip with members of Dublin Corporation and business representatives.

Following his visit, he was involved in a presentation on BIDs to Dublin Corporation's Strategic Policy Committee on Finance, of which he is a member.

A spokesperson for Dublin Corporation confirmed to The Irish Times that the city council has noted the committee's recommendations on BIDs and said that at a recent meeting "all political parties spoke in favour of the programme and the Department of the Environment and Local Government has drafted heads of legislation".

Already in Temple Bar, according to Tambra Dillon, general manager of Temple Bar Properties, local traders contribute to the "substantial amount" paid to Dublin Corporation for extra cleaning services.

With 50,000 visitors a day (not including passers-by) to Temple Bar during the summer months, she says keeping the place clean is "a conflict and a battle" but "publicans are generally good about hosing the pavement outside their premises and shopkeepers can often be seen out cleaning their windows in the morning.

Although Coffey suggests that money spent on enforcing the Litter Pollution laws "could be better spent on street cleaning", John Brown, spokesperson for Bord Fβilte, says "rigorous enforcement of legislation" is the way to go.

In a visitor attitude survey conducted last year, the tourist board asked tourists to rate the elements of their holiday they were dissatisfied with. The level of litter on our streets came second after the cost of car hire.

"The Government brought in car clamping and people don't like it, but it has made an impact and people are now not as likely to park illegally. It could work the same way for the litter problem," says Brown.