The incident happened on a Dublin Bus travelling to Maynooth

A-SIX-YEAR-OLD boy has been jabbed by a used syringe needle that was left on the seat of a Dublin city bus.

The terrified youngster was pricked by the dirty needle on the 66B bus which goes to Maynooth.

The child was taken off at Lucan Road and rushed to Tallaght Hospital.

The other passengers were also removed and quickly transferred to a different bus while emergency services dealt with the incident.

The bus was travelling from the city centre towards Maynooth.

"It's a nightmare for any parent to go through. My thoughts are with the parents of the child and what they are going through now," said Lucan councillor Liona O'Toole, the deputy mayor of South Dublin County Council.

A Dublin Bus spokeswoman confirmed that the incident had occurred on January 9 at 5.10pm and involved a young passenger.

"Emergency services attended the scene and the passenger was taken to Tallaght Hospital," said the spokeswoman.

"The incident is currently under internal investigation.

"There are very strict protocols in place when dealing with incidents such as this, which the driver followed.

"There are also strict maintenance and cleaning procedures in place."

The spokeswoman said incidents of this nature are "a rare occurrence".

She said the overall level of anti-social behaviour is low and has decreased over the past several years.

She added that the reduction in anti-social incidents was the result of a series of initiatives that were designed to improve safety for customers and employees.

"Whoever left the syringe on the bus was a very irresponsible person," said Ms O'Toole.

"I would like to think the CCTV cameras were in good working order to get evidence. As a mother of three children myself, I'm very concerned. I hope the child is all right."

It is not the first time a passenger on the city's public transport network has been hurt by a syringe.

In 2012, an incident on a Luas tram was reported when a child picked up a used needle and syringe.

The young boy was travelling with his mother between Goldenbridge and Blackhorse on the Red Line.

In February 2005, a 15-year-old schoolboy sat on a bloody syringe hidden in the back seat of a bus.

He told a court in a compensation case that he felt a jab in his leg when he sat down on the 78A at the Liffey Valley Shopping Centre terminus.

He told the driver who called an ambulance.

The boy underwent innoculation and blood tests, but it was three years before he received the all-clear regarding potential Hep C and Hep B infection.

Judge Joseph Mathews, dealing with the case in 2010, recommended that the crevices in back seats be probed with some sort of steel claw for needles and syringes.

aokeeffe@herald.ie

Herald