Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Act 2004

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Amendment of section 48 of Principal Act.

17.—Section 48 of the Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following subsections for subsections (4), (5), (6), (7), (8) and (9):

“(4) For the purposes of this Act, an authorised officer may—

(a) subject to subsection (6), enter (if necessary by the use of reasonable force), at all reasonable times, any premises at which he or she has reasonable grounds for believing that—

(i) any trade, business or activity connected with the manufacture, processing, disposal, export, import, distribution, sale, storage, packaging or labelling of a tobacco product is or has been carried on, or

(ii) books, records or other documents (including documents stored in non-legible form) relating to such trade, business or activity are kept,

(b) at all reasonable times enter (if necessary by the use of reasonable force) any specified place,

(c) at such premises inspect and take copies of, any books, records, other documents (including documents stored in non-legible form) or extracts therefrom, which he or she finds in the course of his or her inspection,

(d) remove any such books, records or documents from such premises and detain them for such period as he or she reasonably considers to be necessary for the purposes of his or her functions under this Act,

(e) carry out, or have carried out, such examinations, tests, inspections and checks of—

(i) the premises,

(ii) any tobacco product or any article or substance used in the manufacture, processing or storage of tobacco products, at the premises, or

(iii) any equipment, machinery or plant at the premises,

as he or she reasonably considers to be necessary for the purposes of his or her functions under this Act,

(f) require any person at the premises or the owner or person in charge of the premises and any person employed there to give to him or her such assistance and information and to produce to him or her such books, documents or other records (and in the case of documents or records stored in non-legible form, produce to him or her a legible reproduction thereof) that are in that person's power or procurement, as he or she may reasonably require for the purposes of his or her functions under this Act,

(g) take samples of any tobacco product or any article or substance used in the manufacture, processing or storage of tobacco products found at the premises for the purposes of analysis and examination,

(h) direct that such tobacco products found at the premises as he or she, upon reasonable grounds, believes contravene a provision of this Act not be sold or distributed or moved from the premises, without his or her consent,

(i) secure for later inspection any premises or part of any premises in which a tobacco product, substance or article is found or ordinarily kept, or records, books or documents are found or ordinarily kept, for such period as may reasonably be necessary for the purposes of his or her functions under this Act, or

(j) take possession of and remove from the premises for examination and analysis any tobacco product or any substance or article used in the manufacture, processing or storage of tobacco products found there, and detain them for such period as he or she considers reasonably necessary for the purposes of his or her functions under this Act.

(5) When performing a function under this Act, an authorised officer may, subject to any warrant under subsection (7), be accompanied by such number of authorised officers or members of the Garda Síochána as he or she considers appropriate.

(6) An authorised officer shall not enter a dwelling, other than—

(a) with the consent of the occupier, or

(b) in accordance with a warrant issued under subsection (7).

(7) Upon the application of an authorised officer, a judge of the District Court may, if satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that—

(a) a tobacco product or any substance or article used in the manufacture, processing or storage of a tobacco product is to be found in any dwelling, or is being or has been subjected to any process or stored in any dwelling,

(b) books, records or other documents (including documents stored in non-legible form) referred to in subsection (4)(a)(ii) are being stored or kept in any dwelling, or

(c) a dwelling is occupied in whole or in part by an undertaking engaged in any trade, business or activity referred to in subsection (4)(a)(i),

issue a warrant authorising a named authorised officer accompanied by such other authorised officers or members of the Garda Síochána as may be necessary, at any time or times, within one month of the date of issue of the warrant, to enter the dwelling and perform the functions of an authorised officer under paragraphs (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i) and (j) of subsection (4).

(8) Any person who obstructs or interferes with an authorised officer or a member of the Garda Síochána in the course of exercising a power conferred on him or her by this Act or a warrant under subsection (7) or impedes the exercise by the officer or member, as the case may be, of such power or fails or refuses to comply with a request or requirement of, or to answer a question asked by, the officer or member pursuant to this section, or in purported compliance with such request or requirement or in answer to such question gives information to the officer or member that he or she knows to be false or misleading in any material respect, shall be guilty of an offence.

(9) Where an authorised officer, upon reasonable grounds, believes that a person has committed an offence under this Act, he or she may require that person to provide him or her with his or her name and the address at which he or she ordinarily resides.

(10) A statement or admission made by a person pursuant to a requirement under subsection (4)(f) shall not be admissible as evidence in proceedings brought against that person for an offence (other than an offence under subsection (8)).”.