Gerard Gallagher is a wheelchair user who had to shout for nearly 30 minutes to alert cleaners that he was locked on a train, as the station closed after nine at night.

This is despite Gerard having notified Irish Rail that he would require assistance to disembark on arrival at Connolly Station after travelling from Sligo.

After the incident, Gerard wrote, "it was the first time in many years that I felt completely disabled, I was trapped in the train and I thought I was going to be stuck there overnight."

Mr Gallagher spoke to Newstalk Breakfast this morning about his experience:

"I pressed both of the emergency buttons on the train, and there was no response," Gerard explained. "At that stage it became clear that I had to shout to attract attention, and it took about 30 minutes for a cleaner on the platform to find me".

"The important point to make here is that nobody from Irish Rail checked to see if every passenger disembarked," Gerard said. "It's not just an issue for disabled passengers. Anybody could become unwell on a train journey, and not be in a position to exit the train themselves.

"That's where I'd like to see a change in policy, so that somebody from Irish Rail checks the train after it arrives at is final destination," he added.

In a statement read out by Ivan, Irish Rail said they have apologised to Mr Gallagher, and are investigating the incident to find out what went wrong and prevent a recurrence.

In terms of more general issues, Gerard told Ivan "There needs to be a coordinated approach from government to really see how we tackle the issue of disability and access in particular. You only have to look around Dublin and try and attend bars and restaurants around the city to see that they're not fully accessible."