Public Transport: Motion Seanad Éireann — 2025-02-26 ============================================================ Victor Boyhan (IND), Agricultural Panel Absolutely. I have no difficulty with that and I said that. The Minister is one to engage and I am always happy to engage with him. I acknowledge his co-operation and engagement, which has never been a problem. I am deeply concerned that the front-line staff and the passengers on all our public transport modes are exposed to the threats of sexual assault and aggressive drunken behaviour on the public transport network. Open drug taking, dealing and fighting should not have to be encountered by anyone. Our public transport should be safe to go on for anybody at any age at any time. There are reports of blocked toilets and people shooting up drugs in our trains. Going west the other day, someone experienced an issue and told me about it. I have spoken to the general secretary of the National Bus and Rail Union, Dermot O'Leary, on numerous occasions and he has said enough is enough for his staff. He has been a strong advocate for safer travel for his staff and for the public. We want zero tolerance for crime on our transport systems and that is important. I reiterate, as I did then, a call for a dedicated, fully resourced public transport police. I note that in the Minister's contribution today, he talked about the NTA and how that would require legislation. I also note our able and capable Minister for Justice last week talked about a policing service and stated "unless they have the powers to arrest, it's not really a functioning or effective transport police". As the Minister indicated, we can change the powers in respect of the NTA but I also wanted to share with him that during the election campaign, An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, was reported as stating "Garda management can no longer stand in the way of a dedicated transport police." I share his concerns and have spoken to him about it. I believe, today, that he believes there should be an extension of An Garda Síochána, not an extension of the NTA or new powers for the NTA that give full powers of arrest. If you go to the UK, just one country, they have a dedicated transport police, which is part of the metropolitan police force. That is the model we should look at. We should not close any option off. That is what I am saying. Please keep that open - that is all I ask. It is a matter for the Government, ultimately, but there is a big difference between authorised officers under the NTA as opposed to a dedicated Garda transport policing division. I share the views of the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, and he will have another opportunity to outline his view but I share his view. I share the view of the general secretary of the transport workers' union and I also share and support the view of the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, in relation to these matters. That is an important issue to deal with. The all-island strategic rail review is an important issue. There is vision and there are goals and objections. Clearly, we want better transport as the Minister says. Transport is a game changer. That is important. I had a look at this today in terms of the strategy of the all-island strategic transport review. There are key goals and key objectives and I ask the Minister to prioritise them. The Minister might come back to the House, and indeed, I might bring a Commencement matter for his attention, so we could set out the key goals and key objectives and let us move on. The Minister talks about an agenda for change for the next five years. Let us start that agenda for change this year in the first 12 months. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2025-02-26/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:53:33+00:00 Sitting date: 2025-02-26