600 Gardaí could be required on the border.
Garda management have started drafting emergency plans to deploy hundreds of gardaí at the border in event of a no-deal, according to a report in the Irish Independent.
With the Brexit deadline of 29 March drawing closer, senior officials in An Garda Síochana met on Wednesday and drew up plans for as many as 600 gardaí to man the border crossings in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
Those gardaí, according to the report, will work alongside 400 new customs staff, who will also be sent to work in border areas in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
A directive by An Garda Síochána is set to be issued next week whereby senior officials will be seeking volunteers across five of the country’s six garda regions.
These officers will then be stationed for various periods of duty on the border for a duration of six to 12 months.
In the event that volunteers are not forthcoming, senior officials will be asked to select officers for border duty.
The possibility of using recruits currently in training in Templemore has also reportedly been mentioned, but only as a last resort.
News of Garda patrols at the border follows a recent report that up to 1,000 police officers from England and Scotland are set to begin training for deployment in Northern Ireland in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
The report states that the PSNI’s request for reinforcements was made under mutual aid arrangements, in place to enable local police forces to assist each other in times of heightened demands.
In the event of a no-deal Brexit, the European Commission has already confirmed there will be a hard border on the island of Ireland.
However, the Irish government has frequently played down the possibility of a hard border, with Tánaiste Simon Coveney recently cutting across Minister for Transport Shane Ross in a press conference when the latter suggested there may be border checks.
JOE has contacted An Garda Siochána for comment.
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