Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his question. I am aware of the importance of this matter and the concern in Dublin and in other locations. It is a very serious issue of safety in our public transport network, as the Deputy said. I fully recognise that those who regularly use and work in our public transport network are most directly impacted by any safety or security incidents. Safety and security on public transport are matters that first and foremost must be managed by public transport operators in conjunction with An Garda Síochána, where appropriate. Nonetheless, both the Department and the National Transport Authority, NTA, engage regularly with operators on the issue of safety. The NTA has established a working group on antisocial behaviour, which meets monthly to share information and best practices.

Separately, under the national sustainable mobility policy, my Department has committed to publishing an annual public transport passenger safety and personal security report with the NTA.

Each of the operators has introduced a number of initiatives in recent years to help to combat the issue. For example, there has been an increase of more than 50% in spending on rail security in recent years, from €3.7 million in 2016 to a preliminary spend of €6.3 million in 2023. The entire Dublin Bus fleet is fully fitted with CCTV cameras and radios for immediate contact to a central control centre. An Garda Síochána is conducting more patrols in areas experiencing particular safety and security issues and has deployed undercover gardaí to assist with this. I fully support this work and the ongoing positive engagement between An Garda Síochána and the various public transport operators regarding issues of safety on public transport.

I am also pleased to report that following close collaboration between Dublin Bus, An Garda Síochána and various representative groups, Dublin Bus resumed full services to the west Tallaght area last Sunday, these services having been curtailed in recent months due to totally unacceptable antisocial behaviour. The combined interventions implemented to date across the network have helped to tackle some of the antisocial behaviour. However, I fully acknowledge that more work needs to be done.

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