30.—(1) A member of the Gárda Síochána (if he is not in uniform on production of his identification card if demanded) may without warrant stop, search, interrogate, and arrest any person, or do any one or more of those things in respect of any person, whom he suspects of having committed or being about to commit or being or having been concerned in the commission of an offence under any section or sub-section of this Act or an offence which is for the time being a scheduled offence for the purposes of Part V of this Act or whom he suspects of carrying a document relating to the commission or intended commission of any such offence as aforesaid or whom he suspects of being in possession of information relating to the commission or intended commission of any such offence as aforesaid.

(2) Any member of the Gárda Síochána (if he is not in uniform on production of his identification card if demanded) may, for the purpose of the exercise of any of the powers conferred by the next preceding sub-section of this section, stop and search (if necessary by force) any vehicle or any ship, boat, or other vessel which he suspects to contain a person whom he is empowered by the said sub-section to arrest without warrant.

(3) Whenever a person is arrested under this section, he may be removed to and detained in custody in a Gárda Síochána station, a prison, or some other convenient place for a period of twenty-four hours from, the time of his arrest and may, if an officer of the Gárda Síochána not below the rank of Chief Superintendent so directs, be so detained for a further period of twenty-four hours.

F24[(3A) If at any time during the detention of a person pursuant to this section a member of the Garda Síochána, with reasonable cause, suspects that person of having committed an offence (the "other offence") referred to in subsection (1) of this section, being an offence other than the offence to which the detention relates, and—

(a) the member of the Garda Síochána then in charge of the Garda Síochána station, or

(b) in case the person is being detained in a place of detention, other than a Garda Síochána station, an officer of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of inspector who is not investigating the offence to which the detention relates or the other offence,

has reasonable grounds for believing that the continued detention of the person is necessary for the proper investigation of the other offence, the person may continue to be detained in relation to the other offence as if that offence was the offence for which the person was originally detained, but nothing in this subsection authorises the detention of the person for a period that is longer than the period which is authorised by or under the other provisions of this section.]

F25[(4) An officer of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of superintendent may apply to a judge of the District Court for a warrant authorising the detention of a person detained pursuant to a direction under subsection (3) of this section for a further period not exceeding 24 hours if he has reasonable grounds for believing that such further detention is necessary for the proper investigation of the offence concerned.

(4A) On an application under subsection (4) of this section the judge concerned shall issue a warrant authorising the detention of the person to whom the application relates for a further period not exceeding 24 hours if, but only if, the judge is satisfied that such further detention is necessary for the proper investigation of the offence concerned and that the investigation is being conducted diligently and expeditiously.

(4B) On an application under subsection (4) of this section the person to whom the application relates shall be produced before the judge concerned and the judge shall hear any submissions made and consider any evidence adduced by or on behalf of the person and the officer of the Garda Síochána making the application.]

F24[(4BA) (a) Without prejudice to paragraph (b) of this subsection, where a judge hearing an application under subsection (4) of this section is satisfied, in order to avoid a risk of prejudice to the investigation concerned, that it is desirable to do so, he may—

(i) direct that the application be heard otherwise than in public, or

(ii) exclude from the Court during the hearing all persons except officers of the Court, persons directly concerned in the proceedings, bona fide representatives of the Press and such other persons as the Court may permit to remain.

(b) On the hearing of an application under subsection (4) of this section, the judge may, of his own motion or on application by the officer of the Garda Síochána making the application under that subsection (4), where it appears that—

(i) particular evidence to be given by any member of the Garda Síochána during the hearing (including evidence by way of answer to a question asked of the member in cross-examination) concerns steps that have been, or may be, taken in the course of any inquiry or investigation being conducted by the Garda Síochána with respect to the suspected involvement of the person to whom the application relates, or any other person, in the commission of the offence to which the detention relates or any other offence, and

(ii) the nature of those steps is such that the giving of that evidence concerning them could prejudice, in a material respect, the proper conducting of any foregoing inquiry or investigation,

direct that, in the public interest, the particular evidence shall be given in the absence of every person, including the person to whom the application relates and any legal representative (whether of that person or the applicant), other than—

(I) the member or members whose attendance is necessary for the purpose of giving the evidence to the judge; and

(II) if the judge deems it appropriate, such one or more of the clerks of the Court as the judge determines.

(c) If, having heard such evidence given in that manner, the judge considers the disclosure of the matters to which that evidence relates would not have the effect referred to in paragraph (b)(ii) of this subsection, the judge shall direct the evidence to be re-given in the presence of all the other persons (or, as the case may be, those of them not otherwise excluded from the Court under paragraph (a) of this subsection).

(d) No person shall publish or broadcast or cause to be published or broadcast any information about an application under subsection (4) of this section other than a statement of—

(i) the fact that the application has been made by the Garda Síochána in relation to a particular investigation, and

(ii) any decision resulting from the application.

(e) If any matter is published or broadcast in contravention of paragraph (d) of this subsection, the following persons, namely—

(i) in the case of a publication in a newspaper or periodical, any proprietor, any editor and any publisher of the newspaper or periodical,

(ii) in the case of any other publication, the person who publishes it, and

(iii) in the case of a broadcast, any person who transmits or provides the programme in which the broadcast is made and any person having functions in relation to the programme corresponding to those of the editor of a newspaper, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable—

(I) on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding €5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both, or

(II) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both.

(f) In this subsection—

"broadcast" means the transmission, relaying or distribution by wireless telegraphy, cable or the internet of communications, sounds, signs, visual images or signals, intended for direct reception by the general public whether such communications, sounds, signs, visual images or signals are actually received or not;

"publish" means publish, other than by way of broadcast, to the public or a portion of the public.

(4BB) Save where any rule of law requires such an issue to be determined by the Court, in an application under subsection (4) of this section no issue as to the lawfulness of the arrest or detention of the person to whom the application relates may be raised.

(4BC) (a) In an application under subsection (4) of this section it shall not be necessary for a member of the Garda Síochána, other than the officer making the application, to give oral evidence for the purposes of the application and the latter officer may testify in relation to any matter within the knowledge of another member of the Garda Síochána that is relevant to the application notwithstanding that it is not within the personal knowledge of the officer.

(b) However, the Court hearing such an application may, if it considers it to be in the interests of justice to do so, direct that another member of the Garda Síochána give oral evidence and the Court may adjourn the hearing of the application for the purpose of receiving such evidence.]

F25[(4C) A person detained under this section may, at any time during such detention, be charged before the District Court or a Special Criminal Court with an offence or be released by direction of an officer of the Garda Síochána and shall, if not so charged or released, be released at the expiration of the period of detention authorised by or under subsection (3) of this section or, as the case may be, that subsection and subsection (4A) of this section.]

F26[(4D) If—

(a) an application is to be made, or is made, under subsection (4) of this section for a warrant authorising the detention for a further period of a person detained pursuant to a direction under subsection (3) of this section, and

(b) the period of detention under subsection (3) of this section has not expired at the time of the arrival of the person concerned at the court house for the purposes of the hearing of the application but would, but for this subsection, expire before, or during the hearing (including, if such should occur, any adjournment of the hearing),

it shall be deemed not to expire until the final determination of the application; and, for purposes of this subsection—

(i) a certificate signed by the court clerk in attendance at the court house concerned stating the time of the arrival of the person concerned at that court house shall be evidence, until the contrary is shown, of the time of that person’s arrival there;

(ii) "court house" includes any venue at which the hearing of the application takes place.]

(5) A member of the Gárda Síochána may do all or any of the following things in respect of a person detained under this section, that is to say:—

(a) demand of such person his name and address;

(b) search such person or cause him to be searched;

(c) photograph such person or cause him to be photographed;

(d) take, or cause to be taken, the fingerprints of such person.

(6) Every person who shall obstruct or impede the exercise in respect of him by a member of the Gárda Síochána of any of the powers conferred by the next preceding sub-section of this section or shall fail or refuse to give his name and address or shall give, in response to any such demand, a name or an address which is false or misleading shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months.