The Luas is late, there's no light at the end of the Port Tunnel, and commuters are bracing themselves for another winter of discontent.
But long-suffering Dubliners can breathe a sigh of relief this morning at the news that at least one piece of vital infrastructure is now in place. Yes, at long last, the city has a brand identity.
Unveiled in a ceremony on the Liffey boardwalk yesterday , it will be the subject of a €1 million TV and poster advertising campaign starting today.
And if the Dublin City Business Association is to be believed, the logo and accompanying slogan will do for Dublin something like the iconic "I Love NY" did for New York in 1975.
The NY design is credited with beginning a fightback against the city's then image of being crime-ridden, dirty, and hostile to visitors.
For all Dublin's problems, the challenge facing the DCBA is less severe. Even so, the association must be hoping that criminals and litter-louts are not encouraged by the new slogan: "Make the City Yours."
Until now, the DCBA has used the city council's "three castles" symbol, which will remain Dublin's official logo.
But the association's chief executive Mr Tom Coffey said the promotional logo would represent a city on the up, in every sense. Many old shops were now adding floors, or reclaiming attic space. "All the development is upwards," he added.
This general direction is represented in the typeface in which the Dublin Spire forms the letter "l" . Beyond that, the design is open to interpretation.
The other letters are skewed and set at different levels: perhaps representing the vibrancy of modern Dublin life, or perhaps just reflecting the effect on street surfaces of all the current digging.
