Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour) | Oireachtas source

A journalist, Ms Sarah Jane Murphy, has highlighted the issue of anti-social behaviour on the DART. This matter has been raised on numerous occasions in the House. The Labour Party has made a practical suggestion in respect of it and our spokesperson, Senator Humphreys, has been quite vocal about the need for a dedicated transport police or a division of An Garda Síochána to be used help protect commuters who use the DART. There is a fear that this much needed transport system will be undermined by reports of anti-social behaviour. I often hear about anti social behaviour at the stations in Bayside, Clongriffin and Howth Junction, which are all in my part of the world. The removal of staff from the stations, ticket machines being broken and glass panelling being cracked are just some of the issues that have arisen. I would appreciate a debate on that issue with the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, and the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross.

When those in Fianna Fáil use words such as "scandal" and "underhand", as was the case following the announcement of the broadband scheme yesterday, it is really the worst of politics. I want to quote into the record of the House the comments of the economist, David McWilliams, who tweeted, "One bidder, astronomical cost, [Department of Finance] against it, yet State forks out €3 billion weeks before an election and will give asset back to consortium who [paid] to build it. This is children's hospital territory. Fianna Fáil gotta to [sic] pull the plug!". If Fianna Fáil was in government and acting in this way, Fine Gael would be the first party to cry foul. Just before an election, an announcement has been made regarding a contract relating to rural Ireland and worth €3 billion.Fine Gael may not, for ideological reasons, realise that the real killer for people is that €3 billion of State funding is going into an entity which will then be handed over in its entirety to a private operator. If Fine Gael had the guts, it would not have stood over a situation where the Minister of State, Deputy Pat Breen, was organising and attending dinners with Mr. David McCourt, together with the former Minister, Deputy Denis Naughten. The Minister of State got away with that scot free. Any other Minister of State involved in such a scenario would have resigned on the day it was discovered. Fianna Fáil let it go because it is more interested in retaining its arrangement with the Government until it has improved its poll ratings. For that party's Members to stand up now and talk about scandal and underhandedness is way out of line.