Irish Rail have added a fleet of security dogs that sniff out spray cans that are used to spray Dublin stations with graffiti.
They have hired LFK9 Security Ltd who provide highly trained security dogs that are specialised in sniffing out the spray cans. As a result they can make gardai aware of incidents before they happen.
There was a huge success for the programme at the Fairview station on the night of December 26. The dog sniffed out an intruder with a large bag of spray cans trying to breach the perimeter fence and as a result gardai were alerted and gave chase.
Trains have to be taken out of service when they undergo criminal damage such as graffiti. The number of cases has dropped from around 200 in 2022 to around 100 in 2024.
Between 2022 and 2024 the cost to remove the damage has been almost €4 million. Costs have dropped in those three years from €1.7 million in 2022 to €1 million in 2024.
Graffiti on an Irish Rail train in Dublin
Chief Mechanical Engineer with Iarnród Éireann, Peter Smyth said: “Graffiti of our trains is a major problem for us. It takes time away from regular maintenance regimes and ultimately inconveniences our customers, when trains are out of service.
“We are busier than ever and need every carriage we have out on the network. I am extremely encouraged about this security dog initiative so far and hope that it will prevent many needless acts of vandalism against our rolling stock.
“I would also like to commend An Garda Síochána for their diligence in bringing these vandals to justice and I am confident that we will have convictions from the cases that are pending before the courts.”
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