Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I am aware that my parliamentary question is a broad one. I would like to narrow it down to antisocial behaviour in the Dublin metropolitan region, DMR, north and specifically on public transport, especially the DART. Gangs on the DART can be very intimidating and threatening to our transport workers but also to female passengers travelling on their own, especially at night time. What is being done to address this problem? The Garda needs to liaise more with the National Transport Authority and Iarnród Éireann on the matter. More gardaí need to be allocated to a dedicated policing unit within An Garda Síochána to deal with this unacceptable behaviour. I am aware that ballots are taking place for strike action by some staff who feel very threatened by this behaviour. It is an ongoing problem. In recent months, incidents are becoming increasingly intimidating, threatening and aggressive. I would be interested to hear the Minister of State's thoughts on this.

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