The Gardai have the power to stop and search a person under various pieces of legislation in Ireland. For example the Road Traffic laws, customs and excise laws and Misuse of Drugs Acts all confer this right.
It is important to note that when the Gardai do exercise this power the person who is stopped is entitled to know why and the specific piece of legislation under which they are being stopped and searched.
It is worth noting the anomaly thrown up by the Dublin Police act of 1842 which allows the Gardai to stop and search you on suspicion that you are in possession of stolen property.
But this law does not extend outside the Dublin Metropolitan district.
Power of search and seize
The Gardai have the power to search and seize, when they arrest a person, anything found on the person or at the place of arrest which they feel will be of evidentiary value in the subsequent prosecution of a crime.
This is a common law power but this power is also conferred by various pieces of legislation such as the Offences against the State act and Misuse of Drugs Acts. These pieces of legislation also confer the power on the Gardai to arrest a person who is found on a premises for which the Gardai have a search warrant.
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