On 17 May 2024, Dublin’s North East Inner City Initiative hosted the Roundtable in the Department of an Taoiseach. The Roundtable arose from a desire for a fresh perspective on drug dealing and on-street drug taking, expressed by those from the North Inner City Community Coalition for the development of a new strategy for the North East Inner City (NEIC).

Around the same time, there was an approach to Government Departments from Maynooth University (MU) about the possibility of hosting a brokerage session on community safety and related issues involving an expert group of MU academics/researchers and policymakers. This approach arose from a collective desire amongst MU researchers to use their knowledge and expertise to help impact public policy and its implementation. This all took place in context of the Government policy to broaden and deepen linkages between academics and policy-makers.

Arising from these developments, the NEIC secretariat identified and explored the possibility of an engagement involving a number of key stakeholders in a roundtable discussion, including policy-makers, those involved in the delivery of public services, the local community and academics/researchers from Maynooth University.