Dublin is dirty, dear, dangerous, EU survey told

Dubliners believe they live in a city that is among the dirtiest, most dangerous and worst-managed in Europe, according to a new EU survey.

While eight out of 10 Dubliners said they were "satisfied" with the city, only 19 per cent thought it was clean, and just half said they "always felt safe".

Moreover, just 17 per cent of citizens said they felt the city's resources were spent in a responsible way, the lowest satisfaction rating of 31 European city populations surveyed for the Eurostat study.

The Urban Audit Perception Survey, published in Holland this week, found that Dubliners were more optimistic than other EU city dwellers about job opportunities, but less satisfied with services and living costs.

Some 47 per cent of Dubliners said it was "easy to find a good job", the highest satisfaction rate in the EU. But almost half said they had difficulty paying their bills at the end of each month.

In only three cities, Rome, Naples and Athens, did people express greater difficulty in meeting the cost of living.

As well as expressing higher-than-average dissatisfaction with security, policing and cleanliness, Dubliners were the most concerned among city dwellers in Europe about the provision of affordable housing.

Just 5 per cent of Dubliners said they found it easy to get good housing at a reasonable price.

Eurostat said it was not surprising that there was "a clear inverse relationship between availability of jobs and availability of housing. Cities which find it easy to offer jobs experience higher housing prices".

More than 300 residents were interviewed in each city for the survey, conducted last January in 31 cities in the EU-15 (pre-May 2004 enlargement). The results were published by Eurostat along with a major European study of urban area economic and social indicators.

The urban audit, drawing on pan-European figures from 2001, showed Dublin to have a higher rate of heart disease and respiratory illness than any other capital in the EU-15.

Dublin also had the highest average household size, at 2.74 persons, and the second-highest proportion of lone-parent households at 13 per cent.

Some 62 per cent of Dubliners were said to live in their own dwelling, the second-highest ownership rate in the EU. Just 11 per cent lived in social housing, the third-lowest rate among capital cities surveyed.

On the environment, Dublin had mixed results, with the lowest level of summer smog in EU-15 capitals but the second-highest levels of nitrogen dioxide pollution.

The average journey time to work in Dublin was 29 minutes, the third-lowest among EU capitals surveyed. In London the average journey time was 43 minutes, and in Lisbon 41 minutes.

Some 174 non-capital cities were also surveyed for the audit, including Cork, Galway and Limerick.

The four Irish cities shared relatively similar demographic, social and economic indicators. However, among the four, Limerick was said to have the highest proportion of lone-parent households at 15 per cent.

Cork had the highest proportion of households living in social housing at 14 per cent, and the second-highest proportion living in owned dwellings after Limerick.

LIVING IN DUBLIN: pros and cons

Pros

Affluence: Dublin has the third-highest car-ownership rate among EU-15 capitals, after Luxembourg city and Brussels.

Employment: Dublin's unemployment rate of 6.7 per cent is one of lowest in the EU.

Access: Surprisingly perhaps, the average journey time to work in Dublin of 29 minutes is the third-shortest in the EU.

Technologically advanced: Some 40 per cent of Dublin households have a personal computer.

Facilities: Dublin has 58 public libraries, just eight fewer than Paris.

Cons

Damp: Dublin is the wettest capital city in the EU-15, with 246 rainy days a year compared to 69 in Rome.

Dark: Dublin has the least sunshine in Europe, with just four hours' sunshine a day on average, compared to 7.6 hours in Athens.

Polluted: While smog was not found to be a problem in Dublin, the city had the second-highest levels of nitrogen dioxide pollution. On 15 days such pollution exceeded recommended safety limits.

Illness: Dublin's mortality rate for heart disease and respiratory illness is the highest in Europe.

Participation: Turnout at local elections is the second-worst in the EU after London. Just 28 per cent of Dublin city representatives are women, the third-lowest proportion among EU capitals.