Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

My understanding of debates in recent weeks was the suggestion being made was that there should be a separate policing force completely outside An Garda Síochána. My view, and that of the Department, is that An Garda Síochána is the appropriate body. Whether there is a specific unit in An Garda Síochána is a matter for its operations. There has been a significant development in the past year with the establishment of the Garda hub in the national train control centre in Heuston Station, which provides An Garda Síochána with much greater integration, accessibility and visibility of what is happening on all the public transport networks. The situation continues to evolve. My understanding is that a system of 12 hubs around the country has been developed to assist Irish Rail in particular with reporting and responding to incidents. An Garda Síochána is strongly of the view that it would not be better for there to be a completely separate transport police service. I do not know what the compelling argument in favour of that approach is.

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