Gardaí 'searched students at Cork house party'

The gardaí at the house, located in the Bandon Rd area of the city, took the college IDs from the UCC students. File picture

Gardaí entered a house in Cork where a group of students had gathered without producing any warrant and body searched all of the occupants, according to a number of witnesses.

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties has called into question the legality of the searches and an arrangement that exists between An Garda Síochána and UCC about the retrieval of confiscated ID cards.

The gardaí at the house, located in the Bandon Rd area of the city, took the college IDs from the UCC students.  The incident occurred last Monday night/Tuesday morning.

The Irish Examiner has learned that gardaí and UCC have a long-running arrangement whereby members of the gardaí can confiscate student IDs and report back to the college the reasons for the confiscation. The student can retrieve their ID following an informal hearing where they can pay a "fine" of €75, complete two educational courses, or pay €25 and complete one course."

The executive director of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, Liam Herrick, says the incident gives rise to a number of questions for the gardaí.

“It is not apparent to us that the guards have any power to enter a house or search individuals without a warrant,” he said.  “That does raise questions for the guards in this incident.

“We do understand that there is a system in place which appears to be local to Cork whereby guards can confiscate student ID cards and pass them onto the college.

"It’s not clear that there is a lawful basis for guards passing on information that does not relate to criminal offences.”  There are believed to have been up to 20 young people and students in the house when gardaí called late on Monday evening.  A number of those present left immediately by a back door when the gardaí called, but they were subsequently subjected to body searches in the front garden of the premises.

One of the students present told the Irish Examiner that the reason given for the body searches was that the previous night the guards had called and one individual had possession of a small quantity of drugs.  This individual was not at the house on the night in question.

“Everybody thought we had to let them do this,” one student who was present told the Irish Examiner.  “We don’t even know the guy who was there the night before, yet that was the reason given for searching us. 

We were all searched in the front garden. There were female gardaí there to search the girls.

The students pointed out that when ID cards are confiscated it may be up to 10 days before they can be retrieved following a hearing, during which time they are denied access to a range of student services, including the library.

A spokesperson for UCC said the college works together with the gardaí to promote responsible student behaviour on- and off-campus.

“UCC has authorised the Gardaí to request student cards from UCC students in the event they appear to be contravening UCC student rules,” he said.

A spokesperson said An Garda Síochána does not comment on individual incidents.  

Powers of entry are subject to a warrant, and powers of stop and search come under the Misuse of Drugs Act and other laws. The Irish Examiner understands that no warrant was produced on the night that gardaí attended.

“Covid 19 legislation has not provided An Garda Síochána with any additional powers to search a person or enter a private dwelling,” the garda spokesman said.

“House parties have been a long-standing issue which An Garda Síochána have always policed, in the absence of statutory powers, based on our tradition of policing by consent. Where a specific criminal offence is disclosed, the appropriate statutory legislation will be invoked.”