Irish Rail customer service staff on the Cork-Dublin line are afraid to go to work due to assaults, drinking and drug taking
Drinking and shouting were the main issues raised in 39 complaints logged with Iarnród Eireann from May 2024 to June this year
Speaking to RedFM News Dermot O'Leary of the National Bus and Rail Union says passengers are increasingly turning to their customer service staff for help
"There's ongoing anti social behaviour thuggery if you like, sometimes, even bordering on criminality. And I think people sometimes don't understand that the people that we represent, the people that are afraid to go to work sometimes, are customer service staff not security staff. And sometimes there's an expectation on our members to intervene in situations where you know people are acting, inappropriately, that's not our members' job"
