Adventure Activities Standards Authority Act, 2001

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PART IV

Inspections

Inspectors.

36.—(1) The Authority may appoint such and so many persons as it thinks fit to be inspectors for the purposes of this Act and may revoke any such appointment.

(2) The Authority shall issue to every inspector appointed by it under subsection (1) a warrant of appointment and, when exercising a power conferred on an inspector by or under this Act, the inspector shall, on being so requested by any person affected, produce the warrant or a copy of it, duly authenticated by the Authority, to that person.

(3) An inspector may, for the purposes of ascertaining whether this Act or any code of practice published or approved of under section 34 or any scheme made under section 35 is being complied with, do any or all of the following:

(a) at all reasonable times enter any premises or place where he or she reasonably believes that an adventure activities operation is being carried on or that it is being used for a purpose connected with an adventure activities operation or that equipment used for that purpose is at the premises or place,

(b) inspect the premises or place, the equipment and any documents or records kept or used on the premises or place or equipment,

(c) where he or she has reasonable grounds for suspecting that at any premises or place an offence under this Act has been or is being committed, use reasonable force where necessary in order to enter the premises or place, provided he or she is so authorised by a warrant of a judge of the District Court under section 37 or, if it appears to the inspector to be a case of emergency and that the delay in obtaining a warrant would be likely to endanger life, then without being so authorised,

(d) when exercising a power under this section, be accompanied by a member of the Garda Síochána if the inspector has reasonable cause to apprehend a serious obstruction in the execution of the inspector's duty,

(e) require any person found at the premises or place or on or in the equipment to produce to the inspector any such document or record (including, in the case of information in a non-legible form, a copy of or extract from such information in permanent legible form) kept or used for a purpose connected with an adventure activities operation,

(f) inspect, examine and take copies of or extracts from or take away, if necessary, for the purposes of inspection or examination, any document or record (including in the case of information in a non-legible form a copy of an extract from such information in permanent legible form) kept or used in connection with the operation of an adventure activity and require the person by whom such document or record is kept or who produced the document or record to certify a copy thereof as a true copy,

(g) inspect, examine and take copies of or take away, if necessary, for the purposes of inspection or examination, any photograph, video or other recording, whether of sound or image, kept or used in connection with the operation of an adventure activity and require the person by whom such photograph, video or other recording is kept or who produced the document or record to certify a copy thereof as a true copy,

(h) investigate any accident involving an adventure activity, and

(i) undertake, or arrange for the undertaking of, the examination, testing, processing or dismantling of any equipment as may be necessary.

(4) For the purpose of exercising his or her powers under subsection (3) an inspector may detain equipment during such time as is required for the exercise of those powers.

(5) An inspector shall not, other than with the consent of the occupier, enter any part of a premises used as a private dwelling unless he or she has obtained a warrant from the District Court under section 37 authorising such entry.

(6) Where an inspector in the exercise of his or her powers under this section is prevented from entering any premises, an application may be made under section 37 for a warrant authorising such entry.

(7) Where the Authority is satisfied that an inspector appointed by it has, in a bona fide manner, exercised a power conferred on the inspector by or under this Act, the appointing authority shall indemnify the inspector against all actions or claims however arising in respect of the exercise by the inspector of that power.