Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our guests and thank them for attending and for their very informative opening statements. In particular, I welcome Dr. Leva, whom I have known for a long time. I am great buddies with her husband from my college days. It is great to see her here on screen in the Houses of the Oireachtas.

In reference to public transport, she stated "many will reject it, as we have seen more recently in Ireland, if the system does not understand and meet their needs." That was a powerful closing remark in her statement. The past few weeks have been an eye-opener in this country. There was the awful and harrowing murder of Ashling Murphy, which sparked a national debate about where it is safe for women to go.

What was an eye-opener for me and many other males who serve in the Houses of the Oireachtas is that while men can take for granted that places are safe, it is not the same for women because they experience the public realm in a very different way. There are many places in which men might feel safe while women would not. It was telling and insightful to hear from Dr. Leva's opening statement that public transport is an example of that. Public transport may not be a safe place for far too many women in our country. That is awful and the committee needs to focus on it.

I use the train, as does the Chairman. We are frequent users of the train to get from our constituencies to the Dáil. I wish to put a few points to Dr. Leva. The Irish rail service has conductors and ticket inspectors. I have seen problems on board trains. Only five or six weeks ago, I was on train when a guy stood up and told everyone he had a knife. Nothing could be done about that. We all had to sit in silence. The chatter, fun and joy on the train all ended and for the final 40 minutes of our journey, there was total silence in that carriage. We did not know how serious this guy was and if he was going to carry out his threats. It was not until the train pulled in at the platform at Limerick station that members of the Garda put him on the ground and arrested him. Does Dr. Leva believe we should have a dedicated transport police or at least legislative provisions that give more power to the people patrolling our trains? Does she believe we need a text service so that when someone is silently suffering on a train beside a violent or unruly passenger there is a way to quietly notify authorities of what he or she is experiencing? Does she believe that when catering resumes on trains, which I believe will happen next week, alcohol should not be served? We have all been on trains going to all-Ireland finals, and perhaps the Chairman has been to more such games than I have as a Clare man. It is fun to sit with a few friends, have a few beers and celebrate on the way home. However, there are also people who get very messy on trains. Such people are coming down the carriage and sitting across from a family or mother travelling with her kids, which makes the journey miserable for them. Does Dr. Leva believe we might need travel police and a text service to make train travel safer? Has she views on alcohol being served on trains?