|
|
|
Powers of authorised officers
|
| |
25. (1) For the purposes of this Act, an authorised officer may—
|
|
| |
(a) subject to subsection (3) enter (if necessary by the use of reasonable force) or, where the premises is a vehicle, stop and enter (if necessary by the use of reasonable force) at all reasonable times any premises—
|
|
| |
(i) that he or she has reasonable grounds for believing has been or is being used in connection with any trade, business or activity connected with the manufacture, import, sale, supply, disposal, export, distribution, storage, packaging, labelling, marketing, advertising, promotion or sponsorship of alcohol products,
|
|
| |
(ii) that he or she has reasonable grounds for believing has been used or is being used in connection with the manufacture, import or sale of children’s clothing, or
|
|
| |
(iii) at which he or she has reasonable grounds for believing that books, records, documents or relevant things in relation to that trade, business or activity are kept,
|
|
| |
and search and inspect the premises and any books, records, documents or relevant things at that premises,
|
|
| |
(b) secure for later inspection any premises or any part of any premises at which an alcohol product or relevant thing is found or ordinarily kept, or such books, records or other documents are kept or there are reasonable grounds for believing that such alcohol products, relevant things, books, records or other documents are kept, for such period as may reasonably be necessary for the purposes of his or her functions under this Act,
|
|
| |
(c) require any person who carries on such trade, business or activity or any person employed in respect of such trade, business or activity to produce to the authorised officer such books, records or other documents and where such books, records or other documents are kept in non-legible form to reproduce in a legible form and to give him or her any information as the officer may reasonably require in relation to such books, records or other documents,
|
|
| |
(d) inspect and take copies of, or extracts from, any such books, records or other documents at the premises, including in the case of information in non-legible form, copies of or extracts from such information in a permanent legible form,
|
|
| |
(e) make a record whether in writing, by photography or otherwise of any book, record or other document at the premises,
|
|
| |
(f) remove and retain such book, record or other document for such periods as he or she reasonably considers to be necessary for the purposes of his or her functions under this Act,
|
|
| |
(g) require any such person to give to the authorised officer any information which the authorised officer may reasonably require regarding such trade, business or activity or in respect of the persons carrying on such trade, business or activity or employed in connection with such trade, business or activity,
|
|
| |
(h) require any such person to give to the authorised officer any other assistance or information which the authorised officer may reasonably require in respect of such trade, business or activity,
|
|
| |
(i) require any person by or on whose behalf data equipment is or has been used or any person having charge of, or otherwise concerned with the operation of, the data equipment or any associated apparatus or material, to afford the authorised officer all reasonable assistance in relation to it and assist in the retrieval of information connected with the operation of such data equipment, apparatus or material,
|
|
| |
(j) summon, at any reasonable time, any other person employed in connection with such trade, business or activity to give the authorised officer any information which the authorised officer may reasonably require in relation to such trade, business or activity and to produce to the authorised officer any records which are in control of that other person,
|
|
| |
(k) carry out, or arrange to have carried out, inspections and such checks of the premises and any alcohol products or relevant things as he or she reasonably considers to be necessary for the purposes of his or her functions under this Act,
|
|
| |
(l) without payment, take for analysis or examination samples of such alcohol products, or relevant things as he or she reasonably considers to be necessary for the purposes of his or her functions under this Act,
|
|
| |
(m) carry out, or arrange to have carried out such analysis or examinations and tests on samples taken under paragraph (l) and alcohol products taken under paragraph (r) as he or she reasonably considers to be necessary, for the purposes of his or her functions under this Act,
|
|
| |
(n) pay or make tender of payment for the purchase of an alcohol product, or confirm, by such other manner as he or she considers appropriate, the price at which an alcohol product is for sale,
|
|
| |
(o) require a person, who makes available facilities such as post office boxes, telecommunications or electronic mail addresses or other like facilities, to give him or her such assistance and information as he or she reasonably considers to be neccessary for the purposes of his or her functions under this Act in any case where the officer has reasonable grounds for believing that any alcohol product or relevant thing is being supplied by mail or other means of delivery,
|
|
| |
(p) direct that such alcohol products or relevant things found at the premises, the sale of which he or she, upon reasonable grounds, believes would contravene a provision of this Act not be sold or distributed or moved from the premises, without his or her consent,
|
|
| |
(q) serve fixed payment notices and compliance notices, and
|
|
| |
(r) take possession of and remove from the premises for examination and analysis any alcohol products or relevant things, 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.
|
|
| |
(2) When performing a function under this Act, an authorised officer may, subject to any warrant under subsection (5), be accompanied by such number of authorised officers or members of the Garda Síochána as he or she considers appropriate.
|
|
| |
(3) An authorised officer shall not enter a dwelling, other than—
|
|
| |
(a) with the consent of the occupier, or
|
|
| |
(b) pursuant to a warrant under subsection (5).
|
|
| |
(4) Where an authorised officer is, in the exercise of his or her powers under this section, prevented from entering any premises an application may be made under subsection (5) authorising such entry.
|
|
| |
(5) Without prejudice to the powers conferred on an authorised officer under this section, where a judge of the District Court is satisfied on the sworn information of an authorised officer that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that—
|
|
| |
(a) there is information required by an authorised officer for the purposes of his or her functions under this Act on or at any, or any part of any, premises,
|
|
| |
(b) books, records other documents (including documents stored in non-legible form) or relevant things referred to in subsection (1)(a)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 (1)(a),
|
|
| |
the judge may issue a warrant authorising an authorised officer (accompanied, where appropriate, by such other authorised officers or members of the Garda Síochána or both) at any time or times within one month of the date of issue of the warrant, on production if so requested of the warrant, to enter the premises or dwelling as the case may be, using reasonable force where necessary, and exercise all or any of the powers conferred on an authorised officer under this section.
|
|
| |
(6) A person who—
|
|
| |
(a) falsely represents himself or herself as an authorised officer,
|
|
| |
(b) obstructs or interferes with an authorised officer or a member of the Garda Síochána in the course of exercising a power under this section,
|
|
| |
(c) fails or refuses to comply with a requirement of an authorised officer or a member of the Garda Síochána under this section,
|
|
| |
(d) fails or refuses to comply with a request of the Executive or an authorised officer under subsection (9),
|
|
| |
(e) fails or refuses to comply with a direction of an authorised officer under subsection (1)(p), or
|
|
| |
(f) in purported compliance with such a requirement, request or direction gives information that is false or misleading in a material respect,
|
|
| |
shall be guilty of an offence.
|
|
| |
(7) 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 and, if the authorised officer considers it necessary, to produce corroborative evidence of his or her name and address.
|
|
| |
(8) Where the Executive is satisfied that an authorised officer or other member of the staff of the Executive has discharged his or her duties in relation to the enforcement of this Act in good faith, the Executive shall indemnify the authorised officer or other member of staff against all actions or claims howsoever arising in respect of the discharge by him or her of his or her duties.
|
|
| |
(9) Where an advertisement in relation to alcohol is published and does not include the name and address of the person who procured such publication or his or her agent, the publisher of the advertisement shall, if the Executive or an authorised officer so requests within 12 months of the publication of the advertisement, give to the Executive or the authorised officer, the name and address of such person or his or her agent.
|
|
| |
(10) A statement or admission made by a person pursuant to a requirement under subsection (1) shall not be admissible as evidence in proceedings brought against the person for an offence under this Act (other than an offence under paragraph (b), (c), (d), or (f) of subsection (6)).
|
|
| |
(11) Where an authorised officer has—
|
|
| |
(a) directed that alcohol products not be sold, distributed or moved, pursuant to subsection (1)(p), or
|
|
| |
(b) taken possession of and removed any alcohol product pursuant to subsection (1)(r),
|
|
| |
he or she may apply to the District Court for an order that any such alcohol product be destroyed, and the judge of the District Court may grant such an order if he or she is satisfied that such product contravenes a provision of this Act.
|
|
| |
(12) The costs (including ancillary costs) of any possession, detention or destruction carried out by the Executive under paragraph (p) or (r) of subsection (1) shall be recoverable as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction from a person convicted of an offence under this Act.
|
|
| |
(13) In this section—
|
|
| |
“data equipment” means any electronic, photographic, magnetic, optical or other equipment for processing data;
|
|
| |
“record” includes, in addition to a record in writing—
|
|
| |
(a) a disc, tape, sound-track or other device in which information, sounds or signals are embodied so as to be capable (with or without the aid of some other instrument) of being reproduced in legible or audible form,
|
|
| |
(b) a film, tape or other device in which visual images are embodied so as to be capable (with or without the aid of some other instrument) of being reproduced in visual form, and
|
|
| |
(c) a photograph,
|
|
| |
and any reference to a copy of a record includes—
|
|
| |
(i) in the case of a record to which paragraph (a) applies, a transcript of the sounds or signals embodied therein,
|
|
| |
(ii) in the case of a record to which paragraph (b) applies, a still reproduction of the images embodied therein, and
|
|
| |
(iii) in the case of a record to which paragraph (a) and (b) apply, such a transcript together with such a still reproduction.
|
