Irish Rail says it has increased security to deal with a growing number of attacks on trains - but the rail company has stopped short of calling for a dedicated transport police.

It comes after the National Bus and Rail Workers' Union (NBRU) argued that a dedicated police is necessary, after more than a thousand recorded disturbances on trains since the start of last year.

The incidents range from 'general aggressive behaviour', to fighting, criminal damage and attacks on staff.

However, Irish Rail spokesperson Barry Kenny says they have beefed up their safety measures in response to recent increases.

Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast, he observed: "Society has a problem with anti-social behaviour. I don't think it disproportionately affects us - but obviously the issue when you're on a train or other modes of transport... when you're in a confined space... it is very alarming for both customers and employees who are exposed to it.

"We have 22% more security patrols, and we work very closely with the gardaí themselves in terms of where we have recurring issues."

Mr Kenny added: "We have 45.5 million journeys every year - the vast, vast majority of them occur without any incident, and our job is to make sure that the incidents that do occur are reduced."