Gardaí are set to introduce a new task force to tackle street crime in Dublin.
It's expected to operate across the Dublin Metropolitan Region and not just the city centre and could also include operations targeting low and middle-level drug dealing.
It's understood the beefed-up Garda response will tackle the situation along O'Connell Street after concerns were raised about drug abuse, anti-social behaviour and robberies along the capital's main thoroughfare.
But the task force is not believed to be precisely in response to that and has been on the cards since last year according to the Irish Examiner.
The exact details have yet to be finalised but are expected in the coming weeks, with Gardaí to be seconded from different stations to the dedicated unit.
