Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)

I think there are ways of doing that and ways perhaps of running recruitment or looking at potential routes to recruitment alongside the legislation. We have to get the operational structures set in place. Consolidation of the legal aspects will be complex but the operational ones should not be. This is why I have already had discussions with the NTA and An Garda Síochána and direct meetings with the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan. The Department of justice is very supportive of what we are doing.

The Deputy is right in what he said about perception. Looking at the 2024 report published in April, which the Deputy referred to, 90% of passengers said they feel safe on public transport in the early mornings or day time, but that drops to 70% in the evening. Many of those who have a perception of a lack of safety are people who do not actually use public transport. Basically, this issue is putting people off using public transport too. The addition of a dedicated, uniformed transport security force, working closely with An Garda Síochána, will make a significant difference in this regard. I will say more and give the details in my next response regarding the current spending on private security to supplement the Garda.

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