Sinn Fein is leading the calls for the Garda Commissioner to clarify how the vehicle he was travelling in ended up flipping over at Garda HQ in Dublin.
The unmarked PSNI jeep was flung into the air after smashing into a barrier at Garda headquarters on Friday.
A garda on sentinel hit an emergency button to activate a security barrier which shot up from the ground to stop the bullet proof jeep entering the depot, Dublin Live reports.
Commissioner Drew Harris would normally be picked up at the border by a Garda Emergency Response Unit but on this occasion armed PSNI officers brought him all the way to Dublin.
A senior source said: “The garda saw a Northern Ireland jeep driving at a pace towards the barriers (at Garda HQ).
“The PSNI were driving through the gate when the jeep with Drew Harris inside was rammed and flung up into the air by the barrier.
“The gate shot up from the ground and caught the front of the PSNI jeep, it nearly turned over.
“A garda pressed the emergency button when she didn’t recognise the unmarked black jeep trying to enter the compound.”
Panicked gardai rushed out of Phoenix Park thinking there was a bomb on board.
The source added: “Gardai thought there was a bomb scare because the barrier is only used when there’s a security threat.”
Sinn Féin's justice spokesman Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire says the incident is a cause for 'serious concern' and the Commissioner needs to make a statement clarifying what happened.
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He said: "Clearly any security incident at HQ is a matter for serious concern.
"The circumstances surrounding this incident needs clarification, I think the commissioner needs to make a statement to clarify this.
"Our understanding, or at least what's been reported, is that rather than the usual procedure of travelling in a Garda car from the north, usually there would be a changeover, he continued to travel in an unmarked PSNI car."
