Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Regrettably, we must now seriously prepare for the prospect of a hard Brexit on the island after next March. Hopefully, that will not happen but we must prepare for it. It is extremely worrying that senior members of An Garda Síochána seem to be in the dark on the planning for this prospect. Last week, we had Assistant Commissioner Michael Finn and Assistant Commissioner Pat Leahy before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice and Equality. Assistant Commissioner Finn told the committee that clarity was needed on Brexit. He said "getting some solid information" on how Brexit will work out was "the key factor we would all like to get some clarity on". Assistant Commissioner Leahy told the committee that the Garda was "waiting with bated breath" to see what impact Brexit would have on policing. We need to ensure that the Garda has further resources to deal with this. People will remember the foot and mouth scare a number of years ago when gardaí were required on every Border crossing. Hopefully, it will not come to that but I am concerned that the Government is not sufficiently prepared for the prospect of a hard border and it requires further resources being allocated to the Garda to deal with it.

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