Threats of violence could trigger suspension of bus services in Limerick, union warns
The incidents include young people throwing stones at bus windows and workers being subjected to verbal abuse and threats of violence.
Mr Quigley claimed some incidents are not being reported due to delayed responses from gardaí as a result of high levels of demand on their resources.
'Our members are raising serious concerns about their safety and well-being while operating this route,' he said.
He called on Bus Éireann to hold meetings with all stakeholders, including trade unions, the local authority and gardaí, to work on eliminating the threat to passengers and workers.
Siptu has written to the company to request an urgent meeting to discuss the incidents.
Mr Quigley said there was serious damage to buses and endangerment of workers in recent days.
'If action is not taken to deal with what is a long term and recurring issue on this route then our members will be forced to suspend services,' he said.
'This is something they do not wish to do as they fully understand the detrimental impact which it has on the local community.'
Siptu sector organiser John Murphy said the solution to a crisis of anti-social behaviour on the public transport network is the creation of a standalone transport policing service.
The union has called for the introduction of this service as part of a Respect Transport Workers campaign.
Mr Murphy said the Government has included this objective in its Programme for Government.
'Our members stand ready to work with all stakeholders to make the creation of such as service a reality in as short a time frame as possible,' he said.
'However, prior to this goal being achieved services must continue to operate in all communities. We believe the engagement with stakeholders to immediately bring greater safety for workers can be done in tandem with the work necessary to establish the foundations of the new transport policing service.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Judge who controversially allowed knife-wielding drug dealer to stay in UK was on pro-asylum charity board
Judge Beach's apparent conflict of interest 'undermines confidence' in the courts MIGRANT 'NO THREAT' Judge who controversially allowed knife-wielding drug dealer to stay in UK was on pro-asylum charity board A JUDGE who controversially allowed a knife-wielding drug dealer to stay in the UK was on the board of a pro-asylum charity. Fiona Beach declared Christian Quadjovie, 26, was not a threat to the public. The French-born crook had been locked up for a total of 963 days since arriving here aged ten in 2009. But he was granted a reprieve by Judge Beach, an ex-director at Asylum Aid who represented migrants for free on behalf of the Bail for Immigration Detainees charity. Advertisement The decision has since been overturned after Government lawyers claimed her judgment was 'made against the weight of evidence'. Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said Judge Beach's apparent conflict of interest 'undermines confidence' in the courts. He added: 'This is the latest example of an immigration judge with open borders views. 'The similarity between her decisions and the political views she has broadcast totally undermines confidence in the system. Judges must be independent.' Advertisement Last night, in a letter seen by The Sun on Sunday, Mr Jenrick made a formal request to the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office to probe whether Judge Beach, 54, had declared her previous roles. In 2005 and 2007, she was listed in a 'thank you' section of the Bail in Immigration annual report, and named as a barrister volunteering to represent its clients in court. Records show she was a director of Asylum Aid between September 2004 and February 2007. Judicial sources insisted she stepped back from the group in December 2006 when appointed as a part-time judge. Advertisement Sun probe uncovers asylum seekers in hotels linked to string of rape cases In 2018 she was made a salaried tribunal judge. She first heard Quadjovie's case in April 2024. He was first convicted as a boy of 12 after sexually assaulting a girl under 13. In 2016, he was given a nine-month referral order for carrying a knife in public. Later that year, he was convicted of drug offences. He was detained for 30 months and caught with more drugs after his release. The Home Office tried to deport him but he argued he would not be able to reintegrate in France. Advertisement A judiciary spokesman said all judges took an oath to remain impartial. He added: 'In each case, judges make decisions based on the evidence and arguments presented, and apply the law as it stands.' 1 A judge declared Christian Quadjovie was not a threat to the public
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Bigger isn't always better when it comes to using Irish roads
Another witness appeal was launched by gardaí on Thursday after a man in his 40s was killed in Croom, Co Limerick, at approximately 7.25am. A woman in her 30s was also hospitalised in the commuter-time crash. As of Wednesday, 103 people were killed on Irish roads this year. The latest death came as an independent report into roads policing, produced by Crowe consultancy, found 'shocking' and 'disturbing' behaviour from a minority in roads policing units across six garda divisions. The report found that many gardaí were 'strongly motivated to be highly productive', and it 'found no evidence of a systematic, organised culture of work avoidance, or deliberately poor performance within roads policing". However, some gardaí reportedly parked patrol vehicles out of sight to avoid all road policing. A small number seemed disinterested that their automatic number plate recognition equipment was switched off or malfunctioning. Supervisors reported being unable to supervise effectively due to structural problems in reporting systems and due to reported fears of industrial relations disputes. Poor equipment and staff shortages were also identified as problems. Staff vacancies Significant vacancies meant that the 623 roads policing gardaí, working as of October 31, 2024, represented a 40% reduction from the 1,046 in place in 2009. Ireland has long had a problem with road deaths. In 1998, there were 458 deaths. This number had dropped to 172 in 2024, but 172 deaths is still far too many. Both attitudes and laws have changed since the 1990s around road safety. Recent changes include the reduction in speed limits from February this year in a bid to reduce deaths and injuries. One of these measures targets rural roads — which have been the dreadful location for many deaths. Speed limits there have now dropped from 80 km/h to 60 km/h as part of the Government's Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030, which aims to achieve zero road deaths or serious injuries by 2050. However, as more responsible attitudes, controls, and regulations evolved in Ireland, with hard-won changes to a once lax attitude to driving while intoxicated or speeding, vehicles have become increasingly powerful and increasingly numerous on Irish roads. They also became progressively wider and larger, jostling for the seemingly shrinking space available. New cars in Europe are getting 1cm wider every two years, on average, according to research by think tank Transport & Environment (T&E). While larger, sturdier vehicles can protect those within it, they can be deadly to those they hit The economy and the population have also grown since the 1990s, washing some cohorts with money to buy more and bigger vehicles. Ireland's recent planning culture — with sprawling suburbs and underpopulated city centres, coupled with a persistent lack of adequate investment in public transport — has left people ever more wedded to, and reliant on, their own vehicles and on using Ireland's roads. The Crowe Report team has called for gardaí to produce a detailed transformation plan for roads policing within eight weeks to respond to the issues identified. Senior gardaí seem motivated to approach any shortcomings.
The Journal
3 days ago
- The Journal
'I'm leaving this country': Migrant workers call for immediate action in wake of attacks
MIGRANT WORKERS AND representatives from various organisations protested outside of the Department of the Taoiseach today, calling for immediate action from Government leaders in the wake of a spate of attacks against Indian people. Around 300 people turned out for the lunchtime protest, with some migrant workers telling The Journal that they plan to leave Ireland due to a rise in what one called 'subtle racism, and direct attacks'. The Indian Irish Society, the African Solidarity Centre Ireland and other organisations came together to deliver a letter to the Taoiseach Micheál Martin's office demanding immediate action in light of multiple assaults on Indian migrants that have been reported in the media in recent months. 'No one has taken responsibility. Due to the fear and anxiety caused by these incidents, one Indian cultural event has been cancelled,' the letter said, referencing the cancellation of the annual India Day celebration at Farmleigh House. They are asking for the attackers involved in these incidents to be prosecuted, for training for gardaí on how to handle racist attacks, and 'effective strategies against racism and hate crimes'. The Journal / YouTube One Indian tech worker, Abin, said that having lived and worked in Ireland for over two years, he now plans to leave within the next six months. 'It's the attacks and the fear, but it's also the subtle racism. I can work in other countries, I am just here to live abroad and get more experience for a while, just like Irish people who go to Australia in their twenties. 'Our demands as a community are very simple, we want to see gardaí deployed more in areas where there is a high incident rate of these racist attacks, including in areas like Tallaght. Many people are established here and it is not easy for them to leave, and they shouldn't have to,' Abin said. One Indian worker at the protest today held a sign that read 'I'm leaving this country'. Lassane Ouedraogo, the chair of the Africa Solidarity Centre Ireland, has been in Ireland for two decades. Today at the protest he said that he is also now planning to leave. Lassane told The Journal that he has been physically attacked over five times in Ireland, and that no one was ever persecuted in relation to the attacks. 'Each time you go to bed you are wondering what the next day will be like. You aren't sure that you will go to work safe and come back safe. If something happens, people are filming you, [there are] bystanders, the police take ages to come to your rescue. Advertisement 'Looking what happened on Sunday in Fairview with that man, his eyes were deeply cut,' Lassane said. The Journal / YouTube He added that his organisation and others have repeatedly called on the Government to strengthen legislation around hate crime and hate speech. Green Party Councillor Feljin Jose, who is a representative for Cabra-Glasnevin, said that bringing in stronger hate speech laws is one of the actions that the Government could have taken before now to protect the migrant communities of Ireland. The Journal / YouTube He also said that there has been a lack of action from senior government figures in response to the attacks against members of the Indian community. 'We've heard nothing from the Minister for Justice about it. I'm quite disappointed that he hasn't said anything at all. He's responsible for crime and safety laws, and he's said nothing.' He added that members of the Indian community are contacting him because they don't feel safe leaving the house anymore, and also that some are contacting him because they are worried for his safety as an Indian public representative. 'My parents are telling not to go out too late, not to get on the bus, it's sad actually,' Feljin said. 'Mates that I grew up with and went to school with are talking about leaving Ireland. These are people who have been in Ireland since they were 9 or ten-years-old. 'One of my friends is a healthcare assistant who cycles from appointment to appointment in Finglas, and he is being racially abused everyday. He wants to go and work in healthcare somewhere else.' Winifred, a Nigerian woman who has lived in Ireland for over two decades, who works in the Department of Foreign affairs, said that she went to the protest to show solidarity and speak out against the attacks that have been happening. 'On my break I have to go and protest. My colleagues don't hae to do that, but I don't feel safe anymore coming in and out of work,' she said. Tánaiste Simon Harris and Minister of State with responsibility for Migration, Colm Brophy met with members of the Indian community on Monday to discuss recent attacks on Indian citizens. Gardaí have said that the Garda diversity unit is working with the Federation of Indian Communities in Ireland to address present concerns and that the force 'would like to reassure those of an ethnic or minority background that we are here to keep you safe'. It's understood that the Justice Minister plans to meet with Indian community groups this week. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
