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FIANNA FAIL HAS renewed calls for a dedicated Garda transport unit, as it launched a survey to ask commuters how safe they feel on public transport.
The survey seeks to quantify anecdotal reports of assault and harassment on buses, trains, the Dart and the Luas.
Launching the survey this morning, Fianna Fáil senator Mary Fitzpatrick said: “We as public representatives are being contacted a lot about concerns antisocial behaviour on public transportation.”
She said there was a lot of anecdotal evidence of this, and the survey would seek to quantify and streamline it.
Fianna Fáil TD for Dún Laoghaire Cormac Devlin said there is a complaints procedure within the National Transport Authority, but “I fear that not a lot of people are aware of that.
“Some of that could be complaints about timetables and all that stuff. So we really wanted to drill down right into antisocial issues.”
Fitzpatrick said the party was continuing to campaign for the introduction of a dedicated Garda transport unit.
“For some bus users there’s no security at all except CCTV,” she said.
The survey will run until 30 September. You can fill it out here.
Politicians and transport workers have previously called for more policing on public transport in the wake of high-profile incidents of assault and harassment.
Speaking to The Journal last year, Dermot O’Leary, general secretary of the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU), said politicians had the power to make a transport police unit a reality in Ireland.
“I would say to politicians quite directly, quite squarely, are you actually waiting for something, a serious injury or worse on our public transport system – whether it is trains or buses – is that what people are waiting for?”
In 2018, then-Transport Minister Shane Ross said he would seek opinions from stakeholders on the establishment of a dedicated transport policing service.
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So what they’re saying is that the government bailed them out and they’re doing nothing with that money except for hoarding it and loaning to their buddies? What a total shocker. I never saw that coming.
Fair play to ISME for keeping this issue highlighted, many businesses are trying to keep going and even develop on cash flow knowing it is a time consuming and costly waste of time even applying for credit, business is being strangled and bled to death by government inaction on credit and high costs.
SMEs are possibly the worst exploiters of workers in Ireland. They flaunt labour laws, hide behind the likes of ISME and the SFA.
When it comes back buy a safe .
What?
No mention of the 90% of applicants told by bank staff not to bother applying for a loan?
Considering the banks were in such deep denial in 2008 it’s no wonder since the same cronies are still running the shop that they are hording cash. And whilst they continue to keep their bonuses, from the money we bailed them out with – the rest of the SME’s can sink – with us along with them. The business page of the Sunday Indo had the finest example of how the ‘enterprise challenged’ heads of BOI behave, letting a Jemie Jenkins business fold through lack of a credit line backed by letters of credit from his export customers – he had export orders worth thousands in the states for crying out loud! Just shows even when they promote enterprise week in may and dragons den they are apathetic to any economic need – other than the economy of their own pockets! – Pillar bank my ole!
Ye! forgot about that one – dead right Harry, I was one of them !
The banks are protecting themselves at the direct cost, not only to small and medium enterprises but to the whole economy. While this government waffles and dithers about bank interventions, SMEs are being terrorised and ultimately shut down by discredited bailed-out bankers, arrogant at top level and ignorant at branch level. With 96% of business owners of the opinion that Government have either a negative or no impact on SME lending, this Administration must act now and install active management into the banks, representing the owners, the taxpayers, to ensure honest reporting, sustainable reform and a return to proper banking.
http://paydayloansat.com/
Get your friends together and sign a petition. Bring that petition to your local TD’s, tell them that they need to confront the banks…all of the banks in your area, that you expect that your TD will write to the local banking institutions informing them that all of the signatories will take their money out of the bank, close their accounts and refuse to do business with them until they begin to loan to the SME sector again. You get 10 or 15 TD’s involved with that (and many TD’s would be delighted of the photo opportunity and to be seen on the side of the little guy) get some air time and a little public anger going and the threat that deposits might suddenly en masse start walking out the door…watch the little piggies squeal then!!
have your say