Special Garda Response Hub to be set up in Athlone

A Garda Response Hub will commence operations in Athlone on January 1 to tackle the widespread issue of anti-social behaviour on the public transport network.

The establishment of the new unit was confirmed by Minister of State for Public Transport and Galway West Fine Gael TD, Hildegarde Naughton, in response to a written question in the Dail earlier this month.

The issue of anti-social behaviour was raised by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Fine Gael TD, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, who expressed particular concerns about the safety of women using the public transport network.

Minister Naughton said the Department of Transport has been “engaging regularly” with the National Transport Authority (NTA) and the three CIE companies on the issue of anti-social behaviour, and that “a number of initiatives” are being undertaken in order to ensure the safety and security of both the travelling public and their staff.

As of December 13, the Minister said four Garda Response Hubs are now in operation to support on-board staff on buses and trains at Mallow, Limerick Junction, Thurles and Portlaoise.

“Furthermore, an Athlone Garda Response Hub has been approved and will commence operations on January 1, 2022, with additional Response Hubs in Kildare, and Castlerea in Roscommon in negotiation” confirmed Minister Naughton.

She pointed out that Iarnród Éireann, in conjunction with An Garda Siochána, have been placing a joint focus on the issues of public order and anti-social behaviour since May of this year, and the establishment of Garda Response Hubs is an extension of this focus.

She also added that, An Garda Siochana is currently supporting Iarnród Éireann in carrying out “on-board patrols” on scheduled late night services across the network over the Christmas period, and this is in addition to the on-going joint Garda/Iarnród Éireann operations, including high visibility patrols of stations where specialist Garda teams, including the Garda Dog Unit, are deployed. A text alert service has also been introduced to enable customers to discreetly report anti-social behaviour incidents on the public transport network.