Brendan Ryan (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

At a recent public joint policing committee meeting, it arose that Irish Rail will be, or perhaps already is, employing a system whereby stations are being monitored remotely through CCTV cameras. If any situation arises, a person who is sitting in front of a screen bank can call gardaí and also, through a speaker system on the train platform, warn any vandals to cease their actions. If this is a strategic decision to cut costs and keep staff out of train stations, it is not acceptable. Quite simply, it is no substitute for having staff at stations.

One aspect of this is the impact on coastal communities on rail lines at weekends. Young people are being ferried free of charge on trains to places like Donabate, Portmarnock, Malahide, Skerries, Balbriggan and Rush. They board a train without a ticket and know they will not be checked at the coastal destination. In many cases, they are travelling to cause vandalism and to commit crime against these communities. As a senior garda said at the meeting to which I referred, we cannot have local communities suffering as a result of cost-cutting measures by a State-owned body.

I agree 100% with that sentiment and the effect is to give free travel for some criminals.

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