Renewed call for Garda public transport unit following Limerick bus incidents 

Calls have been renewed to develop a dedicated Garda public transport unit after Bus Éireann suspended services in Limerick following two serious incidents in recent days.

A call to develop a dedicated Garda public transport unit has been renewed after Bus Éireann twice suspended services in Limerick following two serious incidents in recent days.

According to National Bus and Rail Workers Union general secretary Dermot O’Leary, public transport in this country “has problems with anti-social behaviour” and “it’s time to turn actions into words”.

It comes after a Bus Éireann driver was shot in the face with an airgun at point blank range on Friday afternoon.

The female driver was in her cab when she was struck by the pellet, fired by a youth, at the side of one eye. She was subsequently taken to hospital for precautionary treatment.

It was only her second week on the job and the youths had refused to pay their fare and threatened her until she let them on.

In a separate incident, several teens confronted another bus driver in Limerick City on Sunday.

The group of teens boarded a bus at Carew Park before getting off again to block the bus from moving for a brief period of time.

As a result, the 303 service has been removed from O’Malley Park and Carew Park until further notice.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr O’Leary said the two drivers involved were shocked but appeared to be “doing okay” following the incidents.

Mr O’Leary said the union had been “campaigning for many years” for a dedicated Garda public transport unit, which he acknowledged “won’t solve every single problem” but will “act as a deterrent”. 

“It will tell people who are inclined to offend that there is actually a sanction at the end of this, that you could be arrested, detained and brought to court,” he said.

Mr O’Leary said he had been "somewhat encouraged" that almost all political parties supported the union’s view that there should be a policing resource on public transport.

“In recent months, the Tánaiste came out at his own party conference and gave support to it, as have Sinn Féin, and many others across the political spectrum.

“We are saying it’s about time you turn those words now into actions, and actually create that unit.

“It needs to be addressed, but it needs to be addressed through the legal system, and rigorously addressed,” he added.

According to Mr O’Leary, both Garda representative bodies, the AGSI and the GRA, are “fully supportive” of having a dedicated unit for public transport.

“All the ingredients are there, from the political environment to the willingness of the gardaí themselves on the ground.

“It’s time to turn those actions into words,” he said.