Ciarán Ahern (Dublin South West, Labour)
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245. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the timeline for the roll-out of the proposed transport police force; and if he will make a statement on the matter.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23104/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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There is a strong commitment under the Programme for Government to create a Transport Security Force under the NTA, which would operate and have similar powers to Airport Police and Customs Officers.

Work in my Department is ongoing around identifying the necessary legislative proposals to progress the Transport Security Force commitment, in conjunction with the NTA.

The decisions regarding the appropriate model for the Transport Security Force are currently ongoing and in the preliminary stages of the deliberative process.

However, it is important to note that the introduction of such a force will require the development of legislation, which can have a significant lead time.

Nonetheless, the Government commitment to delivering a safe and secure public transport network, and the ongoing interim work on public transport safety, will continue, as will the continued support and funding for operator measures – such as the recent extension of the Dublin Bus Security Pilot Scheme.

Anti-social behaviour (ASB) is a broad societal issue, to which public transport is unfortunately not immune, and it is those passengers and staff who regularly use and work within our public transport network who are most directly impacted by any safety or security incidents that may occur on the network.

The NTA Transport Passenger Personal Security Report 2024, published on the 15th of April 2025, noted that there are now over one million journeys on average each weekday on the Transport for Ireland network. While no level of ASB is acceptable, overall reported incident numbers were as low as 2.2 per 100,000 passenger journeys in 2024.

Each operator, in conjunction with the NTA, is doing considerable work on increasing the feeling of safety and security across the public transport network, for example, by improving CCTV quality, extending the Dublin Bus Security Pilot Scheme, and by increasing staff presence on services and in stations. All operators, unions, and the NTA emphasise their good relationships with An Garda Síochána, with operations such as Twin Tracks and Operation Saul continuing. In the NTA Transport Passenger Personal Security Report, 46% of weekly public transport users agreed that they have noticed more ASB preventative measures on public transport.

We will continue to work with all stakeholders to provide safe, sustainable public transport.