Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 February 2024
8. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Transport the measures being taken to address antisocial behaviour on Dublin Bus and Go-Ahead Bus services or towards their staff; what supports are available to their staff; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4599/24]
View answerWe have had a number of bus curtailments in my area of Clondalkin and it has had a huge impact on passengers getting to and from work, visiting family and friends and getting home at nighttime. What measures are being taken to address antisocial behaviour on public buses or towards staff and what supports are available to staff and passengers?
The Deputy is right that antisocial behaviour on our public transport systems is a real scourge. I fully recognise that those who regularly use and work within our public transport network are directly impacted by any safety or security incidents that may occur on the network. I reassure the Deputy that Dublin Bus and Go-Ahead Ireland both take the safety and security of passengers and staff very seriously and work with the NTA and An Garda Síochána to promote order and safety on board their vehicles. Each of the operators has introduced a number of initiatives in recent years to help combat the issue. For example, the entire Dublin Bus fleet is fully fitted with CCTV cameras and radios for immediate contact to a central control centre.
Both Dublin Bus and Go-Ahead utilise extensive CCTV networks to discourage antisocial behaviour incidents.
Further, An Garda Síochána is conducting more patrols in the areas experiencing particular safety and security issues and have deployed undercover gardaí to assist with this. I fully support this work and the ongoing positive engagement between An Garda Síochána and the various public transport operators as regards the issue of safety on public transport.
Despite this, both Dublin Bus and Go-Ahead have noted increases in antisocial behaviour on their services, including verbal abuse towards employees and stone-throwing at buses.
In 2023, Dublin Bus experienced 621 reports of antisocial behaviour on its services: 315 incidences related to objects, particularly stones, thrown at buses and 91 incidences of aggressive behaviour. Dublin Bus had to implement 238 route curtailments throughout 2023 due to repeated incidences of antisocial behaviour on routes, while Go-Ahead experienced 310 reports of antisocial behaviour on its services in 2023, with 68 reported incidences of verbal assault on employees and 49 reports of objects thrown at buses.
I assure the Deputy that I take this issue very seriously and that my Department and the NTA will continue to engage regularly with operators on the issue of safety and security on public transport.
I agree with the Minister that antisocial behaviour on and towards Dublin Bus is an absolute scourge to our communities and absolutely unacceptable. The people carrying out this do not represent the vast majority of people from my area.
I want to talk about one bus in my area, the 13, which goes from Grange Castle to Dublin city. On its route it travels through Bawnogue and Deansrath. It is a vital service. It is a bus I myself use regularly. I use it at the weekend coming back from town. The buses have had stones and other missiles thrown at them. Drivers fear for their own safety and the safety of their passengers. However, because of the decision not to enter the Bawnogue and Deansrath area, local residents, many on their way home from work, shopping or visiting family or friends, have been left stranded. One family of a wheelchair user contacted me outlining how difficult this journey is for her if the bus stops early and they have to make their own way home.
As this is an ongoing issue, what strategy has the Government in place to ensure that ordinary, decent residents can get home safely?
The Deputy's example is very good and an important one. I am aware of the situation in Bawnogue. In January of this year there were a number of incidences whereby drivers did not go through certain estates for fear of some of the issues I mentioned earlier. There was a real threat of detour of all these routes. I am glad that my understanding is that that has not happened. That is primarily because of the operators, trade unions, An Garda Síochána and local community people coming together, as has happened in other parts of the county. It is not just in any one part of the county that this can be a problem. It is a matter of that local engagement with An Garda Síochána, local authorities, trade unions and local community organisations. That has, I understand, avoided the detour in Clondalkin becoming the norm. That is the best approach. Working with local community gardaí, in particular, is the key to stamping this out.
The Minister is right again. The detour has stopped. I myself met with Dublin Bus during the week. One of the issues we have is that there is often an incident and then it is followed by another incident and then it ends in a pattern and the behaviour becomes commonplace. I wonder if a more cross-departmental approach is possible whereby we could nip this in the bud a lot earlier. I welcome that the community safety forum through our councillor, William Carey, called in the gardaí to meet them. That was the start of the engagement there. Before that happens, however, Dublin Bus should have a mechanism whereby it can engage itself with the Garda, youth outreach workers and local schools on an educational basis. We could have a holistic approach to this. As I said, the behaviour of a small few individuals in one area is having a big impact on the majority of the decent residents there. If we could nip this in the bud earlier and get these people around the table like a task force, I think that would abruptly make a big difference and we could get the buses to stop detouring a lot more quickly than they have been.
I support Deputy Ward in respect of this. The issues of antisocial behaviour and vicious attacks on both commuters and the drivers of our public bus, train and rail services have been ongoing. It is something we need to deal with. The reality is that if we are to have more people using public transport, there will be centres of community movement. We would want to understand that community policing is about where people are, and people will be at bus stops, on trains and using public transport more and more. That is why we have a longstanding proposal to see a transport policing division of An Garda Síochána. That needs to be considered in the context of expanding and growing our public transport infrastructure across the country.
Another issue comes to mind in respect of this. We also, of course, have a big issue with recruitment and getting new drivers and other staff to work on these services. Many of these people are from other countries, and I have heard from many people that a lot of the stuff that is going on is racist attacks and racist abuse of drivers and people using these services. We need to recognise that we have a difficulty here and that that difficulty needs to be addressed.
The issues raised here are happening nationally, in every town and city. Along with Deputy Kenny, I think this Government needs to look at a specific transport police to ensure people's safety when they are using all forms of public transport.
The other thing I would encourage the Minister to do is to work with and to link in with schools and community projects. I have seen at first hand buses being attacked and services being stopped and then the parents and grandparents of the very same people who have attacked the buses have to walk home or get someone to collect them. I believe in working with community policing, youth clubs, local schools, local GAA clubs and other sporting organisations. I also believe we have to get parents in on this conversation because the people who suffer here are the people who need public transport. That is why it is vital that antisocial behaviour is dealt with.
I do not disagree with the Deputies. To give some reassurance as to what Dublin Bus is doing, each bus, as I said, is equipped with CCTV. It also has access to central control, An Garda Síochána, both radio audible and silent alarms so they can get back up. It is also engaged a lot in the community forums Deputy Ward mentioned. It does that in a progressive way as well as in the school education programmes. It is doing a lot of the pre-emptive work the Deputy mentioned in getting in there early. Also, the NTA organises an antisocial behaviour working group. That is the best way of managing this. It is also very involved in supporting the Community Spirit Awards, which help build up that sense of relationship and connection. Yes, we need strong policing and we need to make sure the passengers and drivers are safe, but the earlier investment in community engagement with schools and others is the right way of trying to manage this.
