Their is many problems with Kilkenny city living and many are made by regulation,
and others are the responsibility of the council to make the city livable in.
1.While incentives should be in place to fill buildings in town the ones that have been in place do not work, the advantage of people living in these buildings is that they are the local foot fall on the street, people who live and work in the center have a connection with the city
an open minded approach has to be taken on this with maybe shorter pay back times or upfront breaks,
not the approach of giving empty shops cheaper rates to give them an advantage over other business and does nothing to increase foot fall and will increase the rates long term
2.As for a livable city i suggest a City Night Mayor be put in place as a person to lease between residents , night time business owners and the gardai this could tie in with the purple flag for a safe socializing space.
A night Mayor should be a resident of the city who sees it all week and be open mined to all,but in place to make the city livable so reporting to the council on excessive pub noise spilling out from bars,obstructions on the footpaths ,anti social behavior and making suggestions on how the living city and the night time economy can work together for the benefit of all.