Dubliners say safety worries, difficulties getting home and the cost of activities are preventing them from going to the city centre at night.
A survey conducted by Dublin City Council as part of it's night-time economy strategy found just a third of people feel safe in the city at night, a drop of 35% since December.
75 per cent of those surveyed said a pilot welfare area, introduced at College Green in December, should be continued on a permanent basis.
The research also showed residents want more music and dance venues and performance spaces into the early hours.
Donall O'Keeffe is CEO of the Licensed Vintners Association says:
"It is not surprising, though very disappointing that only 33% of people feel safe in our city centre and night and it reaffirms again the need for the government to push ahead now with implementing the findings of the Dublin Task Force, the most important of those recommendations was a thousand additional Gardaí for Dublin City Centre."
Reporting: Emma Tyrrell
