A dozen gardai have been training new PSNI recruits over the last year, it has emerged.
The revelation comes as Lord Kilclooney, a member of the Policing Board, claimed members of the Garda joining the PSNI would be "at risk."
A police spokesman last night (Tuesday) confirmed that gardai had assisted with the training of new recruits at Garnerville police training college in Belfast.
Lord Kilclooney, assembly member for Strangford, said members of the Garda Siochana were not welcome in the north.
"There can be no question of an all-Ireland policing service. The Garda has taken an oath to serve the constitution of the Republic of Ireland and as such they could not be accepted as impartial police in Northern Ireland. Indeed, I fear that their lives would be at risk," he said.
"Everyone must be realistic about policing issues and the proposed introduction of the Garda into policing in Northern Ireland would be a step too far.
"Dublin and the SDLP must pull back from such an idiotic proposal and the Secretary of State must not encourage such a development, as it would end in tears," he said.
However, SDLP Policing Board member Alex Attwood criticised Lord Kil-clooney's remarks and revealed that gardai have already been operating in the north.
"Lord Kilclooney might huff and he might puff, but gardai are already working with the PSNI in Northern Ireland," he said.
"A dozen gardai have already fulfilled the role of training officers in the north.
"In the last 12 months, 12 Garda officers have come into the PSNI and helped train PSNI graduates.
"They are already involved and have been successful in their roles,"
The SDLP policing spokesman des-cribed Lord Kilclooney's remarks on his fears that the lives of gardai "would be at risk" as a "reckless comment".
"There is a level of threat against police officers in the north, gardai are aware of the risks and measures have been taken to deal with this," Mr Attwood said.
"I trust Lord Kilclooney is not suggesting that Garda officers will have any particular vulnerability.
"In the very near future, you will hear that the amount of Garda officers is going to be accelerated. At Easter the Dail will pass legislation to bring more officers into the north," Mr Attwood said.
A PSNI spokeswoman said a number of garda officers have assisted with the student officer training programme at the PSNI college at Garnerville.
A number of trainers from the PSNI foundation faculty have also assisted with the training of gardai at their
training college at Templemore, Co Tipperary.
Roy Fleming, acting director of the PSNI training college said: "This exchange programme has been up and running since November 2001.
"It has been seen to be beneficial by both forces as it has given student officers another police perspective on problems common to both services, as well as providing the opportunity for staff development," he said.
