Buses acting as 'corridors of crime' in Dublin, Fianna Fáil TD says

By Cillian Sherlock, PA

Public transport routes are acting as “corridors of crime” in Dublin, a Fianna Fáil representative has said.

Cormac Devlin TD made the remark as several Dublin members of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party announced a series of proposals on anti-social behaviour in the capital.

It follows a survey of 1,500 constituents carried out by the Fianna Fáil politicians, which they say found that 90 per cent of respondents supported a call for a 24/7 criminal District Court in Dublin.

While acknowledging respondents were self-selecting, they said more than 70 per cent of those questioned said they had witnessed drug dealing and drug use in public.

In response, the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party passed a motion advocating for a range of measures including dedicated gardai deployed to public transport, “zero tolerance” of anti-social behaviour in public spaces, and a minimum of 60 minutes of foot or pedal patrol by gardaí on every shift.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Mr Devlin said that while increased visibility of gardaí had improved the sense of safety in the city, there was a need for “further improvements” on public transport.

“There was a real concern for a lot of people who are using public transport, that there’s an element that sometimes can board, buses, trains, Luases, whatever the case may be, and that can change the whole dynamic of the service. It can cause intimidation, it can cause fear.”

Mr Devlin added: “But what we can’t have is the Luases, Darts and buses not policed, and becoming corridors of crime where people can go about causing destruction and vandalism.”

Asked if he believed that these routes were already corridors of crime, he replied: “They can be.”

Fianna Fáil justice spokesman Jim O’Callaghan said he hoped the party would include a proposal for a separate statutory body for public transport policing in its election manifesto, after resistance from the gardaí.

He added: “At times, in certain places, Dublin isn’t a safe place. At nighttime in certain parts of the city, it isn’t safe.

“At certain times of the day, you can see open drug dealing in Dublin.”

Pressed on what areas he considered to be unsafe, Mr O’Callaghan cited Aston Quay as an example of a location where drug dealing takes place.

The parliamentarians repeatedly emphasised the amount of respondents who had said they had witnessed drug use in the city centre.

Mr O’Callaghan said: “We need to have a response to it and the response has to be a policing response.”

Asked if their policy proposals should have also contained measures around addiction services or safe-injection sites, Dublin TD Paul McAuliffe said: “So much of the efforts and resources in policing are going into the areas of addiction and yet it’s not having a demonstrable impact on people who are suffering from addiction.

“And I think a more health-led approach is something that a lot of people in the Oireachtas across all parties want to address.

“And yes, they are part of the solutions, but we’re here talking today about the impact of antisocial behaviour on people.

“It is a much broader societal response and I accept that.”