297.—(1) Where upon an information on oath it appears to any District Justice or Peace Commissioner that there are reasonable grounds for believing that a breach of the provisions of this Act or any instrument made thereunder has been committed within any enclosed garden or any dwellinghouse or the curtilage thereof, he may by warrant under his hand authorise any F257[authorised person] to enter the said garden or dwellinghouse or the curtilage thereof, at such times in the day or night as may be mentioned in the warrant.

F257[(2) (a) Subject to subsection (3) of this section, a warrant issued under this section shall operate to authorise the person to whom it is issued (and named therein) at any reasonable time or times within seven days of the issue of the warrant to—

(i) enter and search, if need be by force, the garden, dwellinghouse or curtilage thereof named in the warrant or any structure or building in such garden or curtilage,

(ii) require any person found on such land to furnish to him his name and address,

(iii) require a person who is in occupation or is in control or is concerned in the management of such land to furnish to him his name and address, and if the person so named has reasonable grounds for suspecting that an offence has been or is being committed under this Act with or in relation to anything found in the course of the search, the person may seize and detain that thing or anything else so found which appears to him to be something which might be required as evidence in proceedings for an offence under this Act.

(b) Subject to subsection (3) of this section, a warrant issued under this section shall operate enable any one or more of the following, namely, any member of the Garda Síochána, any officer of the Minister and, in case the warrant is issued to an officer of F258[Inland Fisheries Ireland], any other person employed by that board to accompany and assist the person to whom the warrant is issued in the exercise of the powers thereby conferred on him.

(3) The powers conferred on a person named in a warrant issued under this section shall be exercisable by the person as regards a dwellinghouse only if, and only for so long as, he is accompanied by a member of the Garda Síochána.]