Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

It is not good enough that the Minister just throws his hands in the air and says it is up to the three companies. Public transport workers should be able to feel safe when doing their jobs and have security screens, as Dublin Bus workers have. The issue of a transport police force should not be passed from the Minister over to the Garda. It should be the Government that takes responsibility on this issue.

Next Tuesday, it is possible that Bus Éireann workers will take industrial action and curtail the services they have been providing, as happens often with Dublin Bus where workers refuse to go into areas for periods until anti-social behaviour in them stops. The Bus Éireann workers are well within their rights because for many years this has been going nowhere. The Minister has not taken responsibility for the safety of workers in public transport. I strongly encourage the workers to seriously consider curtailing their services as the only way they will get any notice taken of them.

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