Independent Senator David Norris claimed Irish people were "filthy'' as he repeated his criticism of the neglect of Dublin's O'Connell Street.

He said Dublin City Council made the situation worse except for those responsible for cleaning the street.

“The cleaning of O’Connell Street is quite extraordinary, because we are a genuinely filthy nation. We are a filthy race of people, but that street is kept really clean and wholesome all the time.’’

He told the Seanad that a commission should be set up to oversee the rejuvenation of Dublin – nothing less would work given the local authorities had shown themselves to be absolutely powerless.

Mr Norris said a former lord mayor of Dublin, Jim Mitchell, had observed 40 years ago that the city had as much character as a second-hand knacker’s yard.

“You look at O’Connell Street and what do you find? Knicker shops, amusement arcades, fast-food joints, tacky souvenir shops and derelict sites.’’

Thirty years ago there was a Dublin crisis conference and six months ago he had raised the matter in the House. A couple of months ago houses he had referred to on North Frederick Street had collapsed.

“That is the degree of attention to detail that there is in Dublin City Council.’’

No tags

Mr Norris recalled doing a walkabout with The Irish Times, pointing to the extraordinary profusion of black refuse bags with no tags on them. Some doorsteps had as many as a dozen, yet a Dublin City Council report said there was no litter problem in the area.