Calls for Dart stations to be manned at all times after recent suicides

A call has been made for Dart stations to be manned at all times with trained workers to help people at risk of suicide.

It follows two separate incidents at Dart stations in north Dublin in recent weeks.

A young man died in what Irish Rail called a “tragic incident” at the Harmonstown Dart station on Tuesday afternoon.

A vigil was held at the station on Wednesday to commemorate the loss of the young man’s life.

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Labour Senator Aodhán Ó Ríordáin called for an urgent response from authorities to the recent tragedies.

“In the past month there have been two fatalities at Howth Junction and Harmonstown Dart stations. These incidents have placed focus again on the severe mental health crisis our country is facing, and have caused untold distress and trauma for the families of the deceased, their friends and also Dart drivers and emergency services who respond to these incidents,” he said.

Mr Ríordáin said young people affected by this week’s tragedy in Harmonstown have said unmanned Dart stations at night time are contributing to the issue.

“There is no easy solution to the complex issues of mental health, self-harm or suicide, but we must respond as a community and as a society to what is happening to our young people,” he said.

“Having manned stations at all times with trained personnel who can respond effectively to any given situation would go some way to addressing the issue.

“The alternative is silence. And silence isn’t an adequate response to our young people dying,” he said.