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	A six year old boy has been jabbed by a used syringe needle that was left on the seat of a city bus.</p>
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	The terrified youngster was pricked by the dirty needle on the 66B bus which goes to Maynooth.</p>
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	The child was taken off at Lucan Road and rushed to Tallaght Hospital.</p>
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	The other passengers were also removed and quickly transferred to a different bus while emergency services dealt with the incident.</p>
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	The bus was travelling from the city centre towards Maynooth.</p>
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	&quot;It&#39;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,&quot; said Lucan councillor Liona O&#39;Toole, the deputy mayor of South Dublin County Council.</p>
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	A Dublin Bus spokeswoman confirmed that the incident had occurred on January 9 at 5.10pm and involved a young passenger.</p>
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	&quot;Emergency services attended the scene and the passenger was taken to Tallaght Hospital,&quot; said the spokeswoman.</p>
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	&quot;The incident is curr- ently under internal investigation.</p>
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	rare</p>
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	&quot;There are very strict protocols in place when dealing with incidents such as this, which the driver followed.</p>
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	&quot;There are also strict maintenance and cleaning procedures in place.&quot;</p>
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	The spokeswoman said incidents of this nature are &quot;a rare occurrence&quot;.</p>
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	She said the overall level of anti-social behaviour is low and has decreased over the past several years.</p>
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	She added that the reduction in anti-social incidents was the result of a series of initia- tives that were designed to improve safety for customers and employees.</p>
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	&quot;Whoever left the syringe on the bus was a very irresponsible person,&quot; said Ms O&#39;Toole.</p>
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	&quot;I would like to think the CCTV cameras were in good working order to get evidence. As a mother of three children myself, I&#39;m very concerned. I hope the child is all right.&quot;</p>
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	It is not the first time a passenger on the city&#39;s public transport network has been hurt by a syringe.</p>
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	In 2012, an incident on a Luas tram was reported when a child picked up a used needle and syringe.</p>
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	The young boy was travelling with his mother between Goldenbridge and Blackhorse on the Red Line.</p>
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	In February 2005, a 15-year-old schoolboy sat on a bloody syringe hidden in the back seat of a bus.</p>
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	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.</p>
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	He told the driver who called an ambulance.</p>
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	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.</p>
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	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.</p>
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	<a href="http://www.herald.ie/news/horror-as-little-boy-jabbed-by-syringe-needle-on-city-bus-30911791.html">http://www.herald.ie/news/horror-as-little-boy-jabbed-by-syringe-needle-on-city-bus-30911791.html</a></p>
