A northside Dublin TD has questioned why security personnel have been deployed on public transport on the city’s southside but not on services north of the Liffey.
Fine Gael Dublin Bay North TD Naoise Ó Muirí highlighted the disparity as he spoke of the “urgent need for security personnel on public transport services in north Dublin, in particular during evening hours”.
Speaking in the Dáil, he called for the deployment of An Garda Síochána or security personnel on Dart and bus services as part of the community-safety programme and said “it is an issue of growing concern, particularly in areas such as Raheny, Donaghmede, Belmayne and Clongriffin”.
Mr Ó Muirí said “there is a question mark as to why the southside’s services are manned but the northside’s services are not”.
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His party colleague Cllr Supriya Singh had consistently raised the issue and “we have had a steady stream of incidents, including violent attacks at both Raheny and Clongriffin Dart stations within the past year.
“These are not isolated incidents. They reflect a pattern of escalating antisocial behaviour that if we do not address the behaviour, it will erode public confidence in the safety of our transport system.”
Mr Ó Muirí said: “this affects everyone but particularly women, older people and those travelling alone in the evening time. How can we encourage women to switch to or even use public transport if they do not feel safe? It is a public service and a safety issue.”
Safety on public transport “must be treated as a basic right not a privilege”, he said. They had written to the National Transport Authority (NTA) “but to date there appears to be little or no tangible progress”.
“Meanwhile, security personnel have been deployed on some southside routes last year. Why the delay on the northside of the city? When will we see a proper security presence on the ground, on buses and on trains in our communities,” he asked.
Minister of State Jerry Buttimer acknowledged that “antisocial behaviour on our public transport system needs to be addressed. It has been tolerated for far too long.”
But he said a great deal of work had been done to address the issue including the establishment of a public transport safety working group.
He said, however, “it is important to note that decisions regarding the policing of public transport and the allocation of Garda resources are matters for the Minister of Justice and the Garda Commissioner.
“The allocation of security staff employed by the various operators, such as Dublin Bus, Irish Rail, and Transdev, are matters for the operators.”
Mr Buttimer said the Government is committed to establishing a transport security force under the under the NTA “which would operate and have similar powers to airport police and customs officers”, but it requires the development of legislation and the “deliberative process” on this is “in the preliminary stages”.
Mr Buttimer said he would raise the question of security personnel with the NTA and the Department of Transport and would come back to Mr Ó Muirí “with the timeline for the northside personnel”.
