The National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) has ramped up its campaign for a dedicated transport police force, with Fianna Fáil also backing the proposal.
Recent months have seen mounting calls for officers on public transport in the wake of various cases of anti-social behaviour in Dublin - including alleged assaults against both staff and commuters.
While Irish Rail has already increased the amount of private security on board certain services in the capital, there have been numerous calls for a specialised police force to be established.
The NBRU says it has distributed more than 50,000 leaflets to bus and rail passengers as part of its campaign for a Garda Public Transport Division.
The union's general secretary Dermot O'Leary suggests that "words of comfort and understanding" from the Government over the issue are not enough to address the concerns of its members.
General Secretary of the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) Dermot O'Leary. Photo: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie
He warned: "Our members have indicated that this latest leg of our campaign will be the last in advance of them having to potentially take their own course of action and look at curtailing or stopping services in certain areas and at certain times."
Fianna Fáil's spokesperson on Dublin, John Lahart, says his party supports a transport police unit to urgently address "the persistence of anti-social behaviour and incidents of criminality on public transport services" in the city.
He argued: “Incidents of dangerous unruly behaviour have become far too commonplace on public transport services in Dublin. They’re now occurring on a daily basis and have become more extreme in nature."
He observed that private security guards do not have the ability or authority to "stop, detain, arrest or search" people, whereas dedicated gardaí would.
Deputy Lahart added: “These anti-social issues are not going away, in fact they’re getting more wide spread and even higher risk. [Transport Minister Shane Ross] needs to acknowledge and properly address the challenges before something terribly extreme happens.”
