Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their contributions. The survey brings a stark realisation to us all about the situation that people – workers in particular, but also ordinary travellers on services – have to cope with daily. The committee works on the issue of public transport constantly and we want more people to use it for a range of reasons, for example, climate change and how a modern society needs to have public transport at its core. For public transport to work, though, it has to be reliable, frequent, affordable and safe. These are the key elements we need to see in place.

The committee has discussed safety. Prior to joining this committee, I was spokesperson for justice and I raised this issue in that context as well. The justice committee had long debates on having a public transport police service and I have campaigned on that proposal for a number of years. It needs to be a division of An Garda Síochána to have the correct powers to be able to arrest and detain people and to imbue it with the same sense of respect for the security services. In other jurisdictions, having a person in a uniform might work. In Ireland, it takes a little more than someone in a uniform for people to sit up and take notice. That has been my experience, and it is shared by most.

A finding in the report that probably came as no surprise to any of us was that 80% of people working in these services had encountered antisocial behaviour or worse. In some cases, it was brutality, with people assaulting workers. It was not just a case of someone being rude. It was much more than that. This needs to be spelled out because people sometimes trivialise the issue. This is not trivial stuff. This is people being extremely violent towards those who are providing a service for them and their communities. That needs to be acknowledged.

Another finding in the report was telling. I have encountered i. I am referring to the attitude towards people of colour or people from different ethnic backgrounds, be they passengers or workers. This is a societal issue that we need to address. The antagonism towards immigrant workers and others from abroad is something that we need to correct quickly. It is out of control.

The witnesses will find general support for their proposal from this committee and the wider Houses. It was mentioned that the Tánaiste had stated at the Fianna Fáil Ard-Fheis at the weekend that he was moving in this direction, which I welcome. I have just returned from the Chamber, where we were discussing road safety. The Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, was present. During the previous question time with the Minister of State or the session before that, I raised the issue of transport policing and he told me that none of the providers of the services, the Garda or anyone else felt it was necessary, there were other means available and blah, blah, blah. That position seems to be changing, though, which I welcome. The position of one of the Government parties is changing, but they all need to change their positions. The witnesses and this committee need to put pressure on them to ensure that happens.