Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I do not doubt that the Garda has to monitor that, nor am I questioning that responsibility on the Commissioner's part or on the part of the Garda Síochána. What I am questioning is how individual officers define whose papers they will check when they board these vehicles. I do not question the professionalism or the friendliness of individual gardaí whom I have witnessed get on board vehicles, but they do not ask me or people who look like me for passports or papers, and people who do not look like the Commissioner or me are asked for papers. This leaves the Garda on very shaky ground not just ethically and morally but also legally. My understanding is there is no legislation on checks at the land Border in respect of the common travel area, which we are all assured will be maintained and sustained whatever happens around Brexit. There are deep reservations about these searches and I think they stack up and firm up. As a cross-Border worker who uses public transport to get to work and who witnesses these searches, I believe there has been an increase in the number of searches, even from an anecdotal perspective. I would therefore be interested to hear about the legislation in this regard and the way in which members of the Garda are directed. To be fair, if they have not been directed or if there has been perhaps a clumsy or haphazard approach to this thus far, consideration might be given to engagement with the Garda officers responsible in order that they have a clear understanding of not only their legal responsibilities but also their societal responsibilities not to fall into the realm of potentially racial profiling people travelling north and south.