Brendan Ryan (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We all welcome the CCTV cameras. Monitored CCTV cameras are a good development but they are no replacement for a well-staffed train station. The Minister states this is an operational issue for Irish Rail, but Irish Rail is answerable to the Minister and the Minister does have power.

We have train stations which have become no-go areas for people. People are choosing alternative transport solutions due to their fear of passing through certain stations late at night. We do not invest millions of euro on State infrastructure only to cut costs and corners once a station is operational.

Staff provide proper surveillance. They can be better than any security team and, certainly, more effective than a person sitting in front of a bank of television monitors.

Having staffless train stations also has other impacts which I have raised previously, particularly for those with disabilities. If a person who uses a wheelchair wishes to use the train system, he or she needs assistance to get on a train, and it is made worse by the staffless stations. They need trained station staff. Wheelchair users are not presenting themselves to some train stations at certain times because of the aforementioned change and this is not acceptable.

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