'I haven't really slept since': Calls for action after suspected homophobic bus attack
Mark said attacks of this nature are happening all too often and it is something that needs to be dealt with.
The assistant general secretary of the National Bus and Railworkers Union (NBRU) has called on elected representatives to demand funding in the budget for a dedicated transport police service.
Tom O’Connor was commenting on an alleged homophobic attack on a young man travelling on Dublin Bus in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Mark Sheehan, 26, was on his way out of the city centre with friends in the early hours of Sunday morning, when the alleged assault happened.
Shortly after they got on the bus, a large group of men and women got on and Mark said he and his friends were immediately on guard.
"My friends and I were almost, kind of, minimising our presence as much as we can because we are four gay men on a bus. My friend literally had a birthday crown still on so we were sticking out a little bit."
The group quickly fixated on Mark and his friends, laughing at them and trying to grab the birthday crown. Mark said they ignored them and he and his friends decided they would get off and get a taxi the rest of the way home.
As they were going, they heard an offensive homophobic slur being used. Mark turned to them and told them to cop on and act their age.
"I was very, very selective in how I spoke to them at all times — not to raise my voice, not to be overly pointed and not to swear. I was aware that these people would just as soon attack you, as I later learned regardless."
Mark was immediately met with threats that they were going to "smash my face in".
He shook his head, rolled his eyes and turned back to his friends. Then, one man kicked Mark's earphones out of his hands.
"I turned to him and I go: 'Why, why would you do that? I don't understand. I hope you're proud of what you're doing, that's the most scumbag behaviour I've every seen in my life."
More threats and abuse were hurled at Mark as he headed for the stairs and then things turned violent.
The man "charged up the aisle at me as I started walking down the stairs and I wouldn't even have been able to tell you that it was a headbutt, it was my friend who saw, I just blacked out immediately," he said.
"When I came to a few seconds later, there was just blood leaking down. I could feel just the blood leaking over my lip and down onto my shoes.
After getting off the bus, an ambulance was called and Mark was taken to Tallaght hospital where he received stitches and he will need to go for an X-ray at a later date when the swelling has subsided to see if his nose is broken.
Mark said attacks of this nature were happening all too often and it is something that needs to be dealt with.
"I couldn't understand how it got from point A to point B. How it can go from a happy night out to trying to minimise your presence on a bus to standing outside one and watching your attackers peer out the window and you're bleeding on the side of the road.
"It was just a horrible, horrible scene and I haven't really slept since it happened," Mark told Newstalk's .
Gardaí said they were investigating all of the circumstances of the assault. No arrests have been made.
A spokesperson for Dublin Bus said they received a complaint regarding an incident involving a customer on Route 15 and the incident is being fully investigated.
Responding to the attack, NBRU's assistant general secretary Tom O'Connor said this type of behaviour is on the increase.
The NBRU has been calling for a dedicated transport police division for some time, he said.
It was the only option to stop “this type of behaviour” as the number of assaults on staff has also risen, with five in the past two weeks.
It was time for the public to call on TDs “to get some of the surplus” in the forthcoming budget, he added.
When asked how drivers have been instructed to respond in a situation where there is an assault, Mr O’Connor said that his members had been told not to get involved as they were not bouncers or security.
“That’s why police are needed," he told RTÉ radio’s .
He also pointed out that private security companies currently in operation on some public transport did not have the authority to make arrests.
Mr O’Connor added that, at present, 71% of journeys are made by private car, and people were not going to switch to public transport if they did not feel safe.
The National Transport Authority (NTA) was spending millions on the BusConnects project, which would be a waste if people were not prepared to use public transport because of safety concerns.
The NTA knew the "problem hot spots" so there would not be a need for transport police on every route, he said.
If there was a dedicated force it would mean that people would think twice before misbehaving.
“People are tired of the behaviour on buses. These are real people getting hurt. That man who was attacked is somebody’s son.”
Former Assistant Garda Commissioner Pat Leahy has backed calls for a dedicated transport police division.
It was something that seriously needed to be considered and aligned with efforts to encourage people to use public transport, he said.
Anti-social behaviour on public transport was a long-running problem, but the existing Garda resources could not be stretched to include a transport division.
A dedicated transport unit would have to be separately funded, he said.
His own preference would be for a separate transport police force which would have powers of enforcement and access to holding facilities and the legal system.
That would be more appropriate as was the case in the UK. That would be more effective. There should also be a community orientation aspect of such a service, he told RTÉ radio’s .
Mr Leahy said a transport police service should be uniformed, which was important from a community policing approach so that people would engage.
Fianna Fáil’s justice spokesperson Jim O’Callaghan told the programme his party supported calls for a dedicated transport policing unit with An Garda Síochána.
Fianna Fáil was conducting a survey of the public for their views on the subject.
Mr O’Callaghan added that the point raised by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris about Garda resources was legitimate.
Investment in the force was needed to address the growing population, to encourage more to use public transport and the expanding workload of the force as more laws were passed.
A transport police unit should happen as soon as possible, he urged.
“We have to ensure that people feel a sense of security when using public transport. We have to be realistic with this approach.”
However, Dublin City councillor Niall Ring opposed a dedicated transport police unit and said more gardaí on the street would be a better deterrent.
The Garda service was already stretched in terms of resources and the transport companies could afford to use their profits to fund better security.
Mr Leahy said it was not an "either-or" situation and that a transport unit could not take from the current Garda resources. “It has to be new”.
Mr O’Callaghan agreed there should be more gardaí on the street.
He pointed out the transport companies were aware of the problem areas where transport police could be more visible.
- If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please click here for a list of support services.
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