Transport | Reduction of anti-social and threatening behaviour on public transport

Questions

To ask the Minister for Transport the measures currently in place, or intended to be introduced in future, to reduce the incidence of anti-social and threatening behaviour on public transport and in public transport stations; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

To ask the Minister for Transport to outline the safety protocols in place should a member of the public notice anti-social behaviour on public transport and how they should react; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Reply

Anti-social behaviour is a societal issue to which we are not immune. However, Iarnród Éireann has been working extensively with An Garda Síochána, our private security personnel and employees to ensure we both proactively put in place measures to address anti-social behaviour, and respond to specific incidents, to ensure we have as safe a travelling and working environment as possible.
As part of our ongoing liaison with Gardaí, a joint Iarnród Éireann/Garda focus on public order and antisocial behaviour has been in place since May 2021. A particular focus has been across the Greater Dublin Area.
Our frontline and on-board security continue to patrol stations, in addition to travelling / patrolling on-board passenger trains as required and mobile deployment of security operatives depending on business needs as required. Visibility of our security personnel and ongoing liaison with AGS as well as being a deterrent to anti-social behaviour, provides reassurance to the overwhelming majority of customers who travel without incident.
Some measures have included:
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Significantly increased security presence, with security resources up 60% in the past six years – from €3.7m in 2016 to €6.5m for 2023 with a preliminary cost of €6.9m for 2024.
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Established ongoing proactive joint patrols with the Gardaí, particularly on DART, Heuston Commuter, and the Cork route.
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Established a dedicated security monitoring centre for the Greater Dublin Area, with live station CCTV monitoring, staffed at all times of rail operations.
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Proactive Garda / IÉ operations for specific events, such as concerts / sporting events, events etc.
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Alcohol is prohibited on board all services and stations.
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Customer Service Officer role expansion on Intercity ensures point of contact for customers to raise issues, and to escalate to Central Control / Gardaí.
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Engaged with Commission for Railway Regulation, trade unions and other stakeholders including Gardaí at the Department of Transport Railway Safety Advisory Council; and with the NTA and other public transport operators at the NTA’s ASB working group to ensure best practice is shared and applied.
Enhanced joint protocols with Gardaí are in place both nationally and locally. This has included the establishment of Garda rapid response support hubs in 14 locations for Intercity services: this means should on-board staff request assistance by calling ahead to the next Garda Rapid Response Hub, they will receive priority service to deal with any issue.
Public Transport Hubs in the Dublin area for multiple transport operators have also been established for Heuston Plaza and Connolly Plaza and Broombridge. This is a Joint initiative between public transport providers Iarnród Éireann/Transdev (LUAS)/Dublin Bus/Bus Éireann and An Garda Síochána Community Engagement Units at Kevin Street, Store Street and Cabra.
Since coming into operation, this level of response from An Garda Síochána has had a very positive impact in reducing the potential for such passenger issues escalating. This has had an extremely positive impact to date, including reducing delays where passenger issues arise.
Rapid Response Hub Locations Rapid Response Hub Locations
1
Mallow
8
Mullingar
2
Limerick Junction
9
Castlerea
3
Thurles
10
Kilkenny
4
Portlaoise
11
Killarney
5
Kildare
12
Tralee
6
Athlone
13
Athenry
7
Longford
14
Tullamore
Iarnród Éireann are in liaison with An Garda Síochána with a view to establishing new Rapid Response Hubs at the following locations with negotiations underway.
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Rosslare Line – Bray, Wicklow & Gorey
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Northern Line – Drogheda & Dundalk
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Sligo Line – Maynooth, Carrick On Shannon & Boyle
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Galway Line – Ballinasloe
Iarnród Éireann has also established a DART/Commuter text alert line established for discrete reporting of ASB incidents in the Dublin area.
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Reports sent through the system are received by the live-security monitored centre, to enable coordinated response within available security resources. This allows for security personnel and/or Gardai to be alerted and dispatched as required to any incident.
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The Text service operates during rail service operational hours, and Customers can Text the keyword “TRAIN”, along with their report of anti-social behaviour – including location and carriage number where possible – to 51444.
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It’s important that Customers include the keyword ‘TRAIN’, as the text number 51444 is a Shared Text Service – using “TRAIN” means that the text is directed to Iarnród Éireann.
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On receipt of a text alert message, an automated message will be sent to the customer by our service provider, to advise that their text must relate to anti-social behaviour and if the text relates to a safety incident and or an emergency, customers should call the Gardaí on 999 or 112.
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If the text is reporting anti-social behaviour, staff will immediately review the report and will follow Iarnród Éireann protocols to follow-up (including with the Customer if necessary) regarding the incident.
The measures in place and those planned are yielding and will continue to yield results – including greater visibility of the issue of ASB. However, as we can see across society, this is an issue which will require continuing joint action, and we will continue to work with all stakeholders to further reduce the incidence of anti-social behaviour.