9B.—(1) The Minister may appoint such and so many persons as he or she considers appropriate (referred to in this Act as "registration officers"), being—

(a) members of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of superintendent, or

(b) officers of the Minister not below the rank or grade of Assistant Principal Officer,

to perform the functions conferred on registration officers by this Act and any other enactment.

(2) A registration officer may delegate his or her functions (other than the power of delegation under this subsection) under this Act or any other enactment to—

(a) in the case of a registration officer to whom subsection (1)(a) applies, such member or members of the Garda Síochána as the registration officer may specify, or

(b) in the case of a registration officer to whom subsection (1)(b) applies, such officer or officers of the Minister as the registration officer may specify.

(3) Where a function of a registration officer is delegated under this section—

(a) the registration officer who delegated the function may—

(i) continue to perform that function, and

(ii) vary or revoke the delegation,

and

(b) a reference to a registration officer in the enactment conferring the function on the registration officer shall, in relation to the function, be construed as including a reference to the person to whom the function is delegated.

(4) A person who, immediately before the date on which section 31 of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 comes into operation, was a registration officer under this Act, shall, on and from that date, be deemed to be a registration officer appointed under this section.

(5) The Minister may revoke an appointment under this section.

(6) In this section, "enactment" has the same meaning as it has in section 2 (1) of the Interpretation Act 2005.]