James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Clifford-Lee for raising the important matter of the feasibility of the establishment of a dedicated transport police service. On behalf of the Minister for Justice, Deputy Helen McEntee, I express her thanks to the Senator for raising this important matter. Senator Clifford-Lee has raised this issue on numerous occasions in the House and behind the scenes with various Departments that have responsibility for this area.

Unfortunately, I cannot speak on behalf of the Department of Transport, but I will address the matter from the perspective of the Department of Justice. The Senator will appreciate that the Garda Commissioner is, by law, responsible for the management and control of An Garda Síochána and the effective and efficient use of Garda resources to combat crime and keep our communities safe. As the Senator is aware, the Minister for Justice is unable to intervene in these independent operational and policing matters.The Minister is assured by the Garda Commissioner that the management keeps the distribution of resources, including Garda members and units, under continual review in the context of policing priorities and crime trends, to ensure their optimum use. The Minister has been informed by the Garda Commissioner and Garda authorities that it is not proposed to establish a specialist or dedicated public transport policing unit at this time.

However, I can assure the Senator that gardaí employ a range of policing tools to respond to incidents involving antisocial behaviour on our public transport network. Most recently, in January of this year the assistant commissioner of the Dublin metropolitan region, DMR, launched Operation Saul to provide a safe environment for commuters utilising public transport services in the DMR, together with reassuring residents, visitors and the business community in Dublin that it is a safe place to visit, socialise, conduct business and enjoy amenities. Operation Saul currently operates in DMR south central, north central and south divisions, but plans are ongoing to extend this operation to all of the DMR region. The aim of Operation Saul is to co-ordinate and manage all working resources in each Garda division to deliver both an overt and covert policing presence around the environs of Luas, DART and bus services in Dublin on a regular and, where necessary, a daily basis.

As at 15 February more than 130 overt and covert patrols have been conducted on various public transport in the DMR since the inception of Operation Saul. These patrols have resulted in a number of detections and ongoing investigations under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977, as amended, the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001, the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act 1997, as amended, and under the Criminal Justice Public Order Act 1994, as amended.

Each chief superintendent in the DMR ensures regular collaboration under Operation Saul with partner agencies in order to ensure success and sustainability of the initiative. Operation Saul is also subject to a performance and assurance review by the assistant commissioner of the DMR and her senior management team to identity any trends or issues that may require effective correction as soon as possible. I am also informed that a range of regional and local operations are also in place to prevent and detect antisocial incidents arising. One such example is Operation Twin Track which was a community engagement and rail safety policing initiative conducted by gardaí in partnership with other public transportation stakeholders with the purpose of providing high visibility policing of rail and light rail transport within the DMR and nationwide, and to deliver crime prevention advice. A multiagency review was conducted to examine the effectiveness of this operation and it was agreed that An Garda Síochána will continue to proactively engage with public transportation stakeholders and providers to conduct further similar operations.