Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 October 2022
38. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Justice if a specific transport police unit will be introduced, in light of public safety fears concerning public transport, especially at night; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52425/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI want to say at the outset that acts of violence and anti-social behaviour are completely unacceptable. The safety and security of both public transport passengers and staff, including arrangements to deal with anti-social behaviour, are important matters that must be managed by every public transport company, in conjunction with An Garda Síochána where appropriate. This Government is committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs, with an unprecedented allocation of over €2.14 billion in Budget 2023.
The Commissioner is responsible, as the Deputy will be aware, for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, which includes the establishment of any operational policing units within the Gardaí. As Minister, I have no role in these independent functions.
I am advised that the Commissioner has no current plans to introduce a dedicated transport police unit, as An Garda Síochána's mission of 'Keeping People Safe' extends to all areas of our communities, including public transport.
There are a number of tools at the disposal of the Garda Commissioner, who is operationally responsible, to respond to anti-social behaviour on public transport.
Garda management engages extensively with transport operators, including the National Transport Authority, Irish Rail (DART and InterCity rail) and Transdev Ireland (Luas) to provide a high visibility presence through a coordinated approach. I am further informed that there is ongoing communication between An Garda Síochána and the respective control centres, and access to good quality CCTV can provide assistance to Gardaí when investigating serious incidents.
I am advised by An Garda Síochána that legislation covering anti-social behaviour is sufficient for An Garda Síochána to police these incidents. There are a number of existing pieces of legislation that are available to Gardaí to tackle anti-social behaviour, including the Public Order Acts.
An Garda Síochána is also currently operating a Reduction in Assaults Strategy, which includes advertising on social media regarding the consequences of perpetrating an assault on another person.
An Garda Síochána has a range of regional and local operations in place to prevent, pre-empt and detect incidents arising.For example, Operation Twin Tracks, a community engagement and rail safety policing initiative, is being conducted by Gardaí in partnership with other public transportation stakeholders. This Operation was launched with the purpose of providing high visibility policing of rail and light rail transport within the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR) and the rail networks and train stations nationwide, and to deliver crime prevention advice to rail and light rail users.
Two days of action were held on 3 June and 29 July where high visibility patrolling operated between the hours of 3pm and 11pm on each day within the Dublin Region (Connolly and Heuston Stations) and nationwide on eight intercity routes. Local Crime Prevention Officers and Community Policing Gardaí were available to deliver crime prevention advice at community engagement/crime prevention stands at a number of stations on each of the days. In January this year, the Garda authorities also launched Operation Saul to further support, enhance and strengthen the strategic and operational objectives of Operation Citizen, the Garda operation to reassure people that Dublin City Centre is a safe place to visit. Operation Saul aims to provide a safe environment for commuters using public transport services in the City.
It is important to note that operators have noted a decrease in incidents since the beginning of Operation Saul. For instance, the Luas has seen a fall of almost 40% in anti-social behaviour notwithstanding an overall increase in passenger numbers.
