Iarnród Éireann has backed a ticket checker over how he handled an incident with Labour Party TD Mr Joe Sherlock, when he boarded a train without a ticket.
The company yesterday insisted that it must treat all passengers equally, after the ticket checker's dispute with trhe TD.
The company has moved to support the ticket checker after claims by the Cork East TD,Mr Joe said that the company had adopted an "unnecessarily officious approach" when dealing with him on the platform.
He was travelling on a senior citizen pass, which allows holders to obtain a free ticket at the ticket office free of charge.
A spokesman for Éireann confirmed the pass was taken, but would not say on what grouds it was confiscated. "We are investigating the full circumstances of the incident" he said.
The TD declined to speak to The Irish Times yesterday and referred queries to the Labour press office, which had issued a statement about the incident.
His statement said: "I was particularly angry that he physically seized my travel pass, which was required to allow me to get a ticket, and refused to return it. I took my place on the train and sometime later I was approached by a members of the gardaí from Kilmainham.
However, Iarnrod Eireann made strong defence yesterday of the ticket checker and said it had sought to deal with the incident in a confidential manner.
"It is regrettable that a public representative would publicly criticise a worker who was endeavouring to discharge the duties assigned to him by Iarnród Éireann, namely to satisfy himself that all customers boarding the service were in possession of a valid ticket," the company said.
"In an environment that can be difficult, ticket checkers must discharge this duty treating all customers equally."