Vehicles were banned from Dame Street for three Sundays, July 21, 28 and August 4, as a pilot project

Dublin city council spent €17,000 renting metal barriers used during the pedestrianisation of College Green over the summer.

Vehicles were banned from Dame Street for three Sundays, July 21, 28 and August 4, as a pilot project.

The council’s decision to erect dozens of metal barriers was controversial because it prevented pedestrians from accessing large sections of the street.

A freedom of information request by The Times has revealed that the council paid €17,000 to Actavo, the engineering services group owned by the businessman Denis O’Brien, to rent the barriers.

The council was criticised on the first of the three days in particular for blocking off a huge amount of space that pedestrians thought would be open to them.

Neasa Hourigan, a Green Party councillor