Road closures and parking restrictions kept people out of the city centre

Dublin city centre should not shut down when Donald Trump visits next month because of the impact on businesses, a committee was told yesterday.

One business organisation said that there had been 130,000 fewer shoppers than normal in the city centre over the weekend of Pope Francis’’s visit last month.

Members of the city council’s joint policing committee said that traders were being badly affected by the organisation of such large events, with road closures and parking restrictions. Ray McAdam, the acting chairman, said that businesses in the city centre had suffered a difficult time with bad weather earlier in the year and the effects of several protest marches.

Mr McAdam, a Fine Gael councillor, said that there could be further disruption if there was