Night-time welfare zone to be launched in Dublin city centre
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A permanent welfare zone designed to help people on nights out in Dublin city is expected to launch in the coming weeks.
The scheme was piloted over the Christmas period to help those who required assistance while out socialising in the city. The new "Help Zone" hub is expected to launch at the end of next month.
A mobile help vehicle will be stationed around various busy locations in the city centre, offering medical care, welfare services, and general support to those in need during high-risk hours. The service operates with a dedicated team including medics, security officers, welfare officers, and a site operator.
Speaking on Newstalk, Dublin's night-time economy advisor, Ray O'Donoghue, said: "Hopefully that will be up and running again in the next couple of weeks."
"It should hopefully deter anti-social behaviour and just give people somewhere to go as opposed to A&E or the Garda station and so on," he added.
The initiative was piloted by Dublin City Council and supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
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