IARNRÓD ÉIREANN HAS announced that they will use trained security dogs to tackle the growing issue of graffiti on trains at depots.

The public transport organisation has partnered with LFK9 Security Ltd to help prevent instances of criminal damage to carriages at stations across the network.

The company provides highly trained security dogs that can sniff out intruders, enabling their handlers to alert Gardaí.

Despite the rate of graffiti incidents dropping last year, it still cost the service €1 million to clean up after vandals, compared to €350,000 worth of removal costs in 2015.

Roughly 100 instances of graffiti on trains were reported in 2024, according to Iarnród Éireann.

Chief Mechanical Engineer with Iarnród Éireann, Peter Smyth said that graffiti of the organisation’s trains remains “a major problem”.

“It takes time away from regular maintenance regimes and ultimately inconveniences our customers, when trains are out of service,” Smyth said.

“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.

An LFK9 security dog at work at Fairview DART Depot. GARETH CHANEY GARETH CHANEY

The first success of the new initiative happened on 26 December at Fairview, where the dog sniffed out an intruder with a large bag of spray cans trying to breach the perimeter fence.

Gardaí were alerted and gave chase, and no graffiti occurred on that occasion.

“I would like to commend An Garda Síochána for their diligence in bringing vandals to justice and I am confident that we will have convictions from the cases that are pending before the courts,” Symth said.