Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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102. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the position regarding any initiative his Department is progressing to improve passenger safety on public transport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8931/25]

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Déanaim comhghairdeas leis na hAirí. Go n-éirí an bheirt acu leis na poist atá acu. Baineann an cheist atá agam le sábháilteacht phaisinéirí ar iompar poiblí. What plans or measures are in place to protect passengers' safety on public transport?

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as ucht na ceiste tábhachtaí faoi shábháilteacht phaisinéirí ar iompar phoiblí. As he will be acutely aware, antisocial behaviour is a broad societal issue to which public transport is unfortunately not immune. I have witnessed, as the Deputy will have in talking to his constituents, that this is a matter that really does need to be addressed. It is those passengers and staff who regularly use and work within the public transport network who are most directly impacted by any safety or security incidents that may occur on the network.

To help tackle this critical issue, the programme for Government contains a strong commitment from the Deputy's party, my own and the regional Independents to create a transport security force under the national transport authority that would operate with similar powers to airport police and customs officers. I assure the Deputy that it is a priority. We have already started work in the Department to identify the legislation that will need to be brought forward and the powers this force will have.

We continue to work closely with industry stakeholders to identify measures to improve passenger safety across the public transport network. In this regard, a public transport safety working group with representatives from all operators, the commercial bus sector, the NTA, unions, An Garda Síochána, the Department of Justice and passenger representative groups has been established. The work of this group will be closely linked to the implementation plan to improve safety for passengers travelling on the network that was developed by the NTA from its annual safety and security report. The 2024 report is expected to be published in the coming weeks. I will read it with interest.

In my supplementary response, I will outline some other measures that are being taken. The previous Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, took some specific measures regarding transport hubs that are still in place.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I do not have to ask my constituents about this because I get the bus myself. The lack of a ministerial car means I have to get the E2. I was about to say the 46A but it is the E2 now. I appreciate what the Minister said. I presume it is not planned to have a transport security force person on every bus, DART or Luas. Are there other measures that could be put in place? I think of DART stations. In many DART stations, there is only one entrance. In Dún Laoghaire, you have to enter at the south end of the platform despite the fact that there is easy access at the other end. It is the same at Sandycove and Glasthule. There could be an access point at the Eden Road Upper end. It means that passengers, particularly people on their own and especially women on their own, have to go through a particular point as they come in and out of the DART station. I have asked this question and it has been referred to Iarnród Éireann. I have not had a satisfactory answer. It seems to be a very easy way to ensure personal safety if people do not have to be channelled through a particular port every time they use a service.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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I was looking at the previous safety report and I was taken by the fact that 84% of respondents who were asked said that they felt safe on public transport. I am not disputing the numbers but I was quite surprised by that. It depends on the route. I use public transport. I am in the Dublin commuter zone. There are many other things that need to be done. On DART stations, I was pleased to see that there are 576 cameras on the network. There are 110 cab cameras that are monitored in real time at Howth Junction. On trains, Iarnród Éireann's security budget is €11.3 million in 2025. That has nearly doubled since 2023. That is good. I have seen that. I have also seen that Dublin Bus is operating a pilot programme in respect of private security on some Dublin Bus routes. It is without doubt that we need the transport security force. It will take some time to legislate for that. We also need to continue to work with An Garda Síochána and to support the units within it because there is still an issue. I firmly believe that.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I agree with what the Minister said. There is an ancillary issue. Obviously, my question contemplates personal safety in the context of the antisocial behaviour and criminality the Minister referred to, but a lady in Glasthule raised an issue with me today regarding the difference in the style of driving between different bus drivers depending on whether they were trained by Bus Átha Cliath or Go-Ahead. I do not know if the Minister has any information about the training regimes that are in operation but if the anecdotal evidence is to be believed, Go-Ahead bus drivers have a more cavalier attitude to speed and things like that. I have not seen this but the matter was raised with me today. From being on buses, I certainly know that some drivers can drive in ways that endanger passengers on board. Do the Department or the NTA have any guidelines for the training of bus drivers or can anything be done to ensure the physical safety of passengers and those outside the buses?

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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The training to secure a licence for a vehicle such as that is standardised and obviously involves road testing and so on.

I have not had any complaints about different driving styles across Bus Átha Cliath, Go-Ahead Ireland or Bus Éireann, but that is obviously the experience the Deputy's constituent had.

On safety, Dublin Bus took the bull by the horns in running its pilot programme. We have expanded services. For example, Dublin Bus is running 24-hour buses in the city. I would like to see that expanded further. Transdev and Dublin light rail have 50 permanent security staff on our trains, but we have to be honest. While all of Go-Ahead's buses have cameras, as do all Dublin Bus buses and Bus Éireann, more people are using public transport than ever. That is good but they deserve to feel safe on those journeys. Sometimes, it is about particular routes, which are being focused on by the operators, and particular times. My main focus will be, with the Deputy's support, on establishing a transport security force and rolling that out throughout the country.