Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach. Ar dtús báire, ba mhaith liom mo leithscéal a ghabháil leis an Aire Stáit agus leis na moltóirí as tús na díospóireachta a chailliúint. I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I apologise to the proposers and the Minister of State for missing the first part of this debate but welcome the opportunity to speak on this important motion.

As the Minister of State will know, Sinn Féin's justice spokesperson, Deputy Martin Kenny, has called for a transport policing division for quite some time. In fact, it is a priority for Sinn Féin to see the division set up as a matter of urgency.

For over two years, transport policing has been a mainstay of our justice policy. Last November in the Dáil, Deputy Kenny called on the Minister for Justice, the Minister for Transport and the Government, to resource the Garda to enable it to set up a transport policing division. The call was prompted by a number of serious concerns such as the criminal attacks and antisocial behaviour of a small number of people who had a big negative impact on public transport and on transport hubs. There is also the Government's repeated failure to properly address the declining numbers in An Garda Síochána.

Sinn Féin supports the motion but in doing so I ask the Government parties here, which sponsored this motion, the following. Why has it taken so long for them to respond to the attacks on public transport and at transport hubs? Why has it taken so long for the Government to react? Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have been in office in one guise or another for well over ten years. In real terms, as has been mentioned, we are having this much-needed public debate on a transport division. We also need to raise the issue of the depletion in Garda numbers across the State and, in particular, the Dublin area. To ensure that a transport division, were it to be set up, is effective then the Government must have a credible plan to increase the number of gardaí in terms of its rank and file members, with a focus on sustained visibility throughout Dublin and returning public order units to pre-pandemic levels. In the last decade the Government has presided over a decline amounting to 760 gardaí in the Dublin region alone. In recent months, Iarnród Éireann has introduced private security staff on its trains. What a sad indictment that it has had to do that? It is not the proper answer to this issue. However, these security firms do not have the power to detain or arrest.

As other colleagues have acknowledged and stated, there is widespread support for the introduction of a transport policing division. This was reflected in conversations that Sinn Féin had with key stakeholders, the exceptions being the Department of Justice and the Department of Transport. The initiative is supported by the Garda and the National Bus and Rail Union crucially. I hope that the Minister for Justice and the Minister for Transport will, through the Minister of State present, act speedily if this motion is passed, and I hope that it is.