Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Minister and I are on the same page. I do not agree with having a separate transport police or the private outsourcing of security. I do not like the level of security on the Luas because it adds to the degree to which people feel unsafe. Rather than increasing security measures on public transport, I would rather see traditional staffing levels improved across our public transport system in line with a stronger, more rigorous and more visible Garda presence, where and how appropriate. I ask that we get to back to first principles in the context of staffing and having a presence on the platforms and also, where we have difficulties in peak hours on certain services, that there is a Garda strategy in place that people can understand and people can see. We will not have gardaí on every bus, and nobody is saying that. We need to move towards having a system where we can have traditional transport workers who are visible to the public and making them feel safe. That should be the first measure in improving the security and safety on our public transport system.

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