Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 May 2026
215. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Minister for Transport the actions his Department is taking to address the rise in anti-social behaviour on public transport, noting that Iarnród Éireann received more than a thousand reports of such incidents on its services last year; and the measures being put in place to ensure the safety of passengers and staff across rail, bus and Luas services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35614/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAnti-social behaviour is a broad societal issue, to which public transport is unfortunately not immune, and it is those passengers and staff who regularly use and work within our public transport network who are most directly impacted by any safety or security incidents that may occur on the network.
Across the network, all public transport operators are continuing to expend significant resources introducing measures to counter the impact of antisocial behaviour.
Iarnód Éireann has established enhanced joint protocols with Gardaí both nationally and locally, which have been implemented through Operation Fanacht. This has included the establishment of rapid response support hubs in 20 locations for Intercity services, with staff having direct lines to Gardaí for incident support.
All onboard staff have dedicated phone numbers for each of the hub locations in the event they require assistance, meaning that should on-board staff request assistance by calling ahead to the next Garda Rapid Response Hub, they will receive priority service to deal with any issue. Additionally, for Intercity services, there are 1448 cameras and 138 cab cameras, with a dedicated monitoring team in place.
Bus Éireann has invested in extensive CCTV coverage throughout its fleet for the protection of passengers and staff and driver security screens are fitted to the entire low-floor, single-deck, and double-deck bus fleet. All hubs are also monitored by CCTV.
Dublin Bus has maintained its Safer Journeys Team, a mobile unit dedicated to enhancing safety on-board their fleet, covering North Dublin, South Dublin, and Central Dublin. The entire Dublin Bus fleet is fully fitted with CCTV cameras with up to eleven internal cameras and three external cameras fitted on the more modern vehicles in the fleet. Each vehicle is also equipped with a radio which facilitates immediate contact to a Central Control Centre. In cases of serious incidents on board a bus, central control co-ordinate with emergency services, such as the Gardaí and Ambulance Services, if required. Security screens are provided on all vehicles for driver safety and should always be utilised for maximum protection. There are also emergency "audible alarms" in place onboard all Dublin Bus Vehicles which can be activated by driver and Emergency "silent alarms" which can be activated by driver to contact Central Control and takes priority over all other calls.
All operators continue to have strong relationships with An Garda Síochána, who ultimately assist in supporting these incidences. The NTA organises an Anti-Social Behaviour Forum, which public transport operators and An Garda Síochána attend.
The Department of Transport continues to work closely with industry stakeholders to identify measures to improve passenger safety across the public transport network. And in this regard we have continued to hold a public transport safety working group, with representatives from the public transport operators, the commercial bus sector, the NTA, unions, An Garda Síochána, the Department of Justice, and passenger representative groups.
We will continue to engage with operators and unions on the matter, and will continue to work with all stakeholders to provide safe, sustainable public transport.
In addition, my Department and the NTA are actively progressing the policy and legislative proposals required to deliver on the Government’s commitment to establish a Transport Security Force, and the introduction of this Force will require the development of primary legislation, which can have a significant lead time, but it will be expedited, with a view to making progress on its foundations during 2026.
I fully support all the ongoing positive work to progress towards creating a safer public transport network for staff and passengers. In the meantime, we are committed to delivering a safe and secure public transport system, and we will maintain momentum on all fronts until the Transport Security Force is in place.
