Transport and stewarding arrangements for Saturday night's Skyfest fireworks display were so inadequate that Dublin was lucky to avoid a serious disaster, Mr Proinsias De Rossa TD has said.
The Labour Party deputy said the arrangements "caused serious inconvenience and discomfort" for many of those attending and led some people to fear that "a Hillsborough-style disaster was imminent".
He said the event itself was a great success and thoroughly enjoyed by those who had seen it, but no extra transport appeared to have been laid on, "despite the advertisements in the media encouraging people to use DART and bus services". Parents with young children had to endure dangerous and distressing crushing at bus queues and DART stations, he added.
He said the Department of the Environment should convene a meeting of the Dublin local authorities, the Garda, Dublin Bus and Iarnrod Eireann to prepare a major events management plan.