76.—F227[(1) (a) Where any specimen of fauna, flora, fossils or minerals or any part, product or derivative of such a specimen or any firearm, trap, snare, net or any mechanically-propelled vehicle or any vessel or aircraft or other thing has come into the possession of a member of the Garda Síochána or an authorised person in respect of which, or with which, or by means of which, an offence is with reasonable cause suspected by the member or authorised person of having been committed under the Wildlife Acts, 1976 and 2000, or where an offence has been committed or is alleged to have been committed under those Acts, and on the application before a court of—

(i) the Minister, or

(ii) where criminal proceedings have been instituted, the person who instituted those proceedings,

then, subject to subsections (2), (3) and (4) of this section, the appropriate court may, at its discretion and where it is satisfied that an offence has been committed (whether or not any person has been convicted of the offence) order the forfeiture of the thing concerned.

(b) In this subsection—

"appropriate court" means—

(i) in case the estimated value of the thing to be forfeited does not exceed F228[€15,000], the District Court,

(ii) in case the estimated value of the thing to be forfeited does not exceed F229[€75,000], the Circuit Court,

(iii) in any case, the High Court;

"estimated value", in relation to the thing sought to be forfeited, means the estimated amount of money which, in the opinion of the court, a willing purchaser would pay to a willing seller when such a thing could be sold legally and after deduction for—

(i) the estimated costs incidental to such a sale, and

(ii) the estimated amount of any tax or duty owing to the State in respect of that thing,

and when it cannot be sold legally then such estimated value, if any, as the court considers appropriate.

(c) (i) If, in relation to an application under this section to the District Court, that court becomes of opinion during the hearing of the application that—

(I) the estimated value of the thing to be forfeited exceeds F228[€15,000], or

(II) that for any reason it should decline jurisdiction,

it may, if it so thinks fit, transfer the application to the Circuit Court or the High Court, whichever it considers appropriate having regard to the estimated value aforesaid or to such other matters that it considers appropriate.

(ii) If, in relation to an application under this section to the Circuit Court, that court becomes of opinion during the hearing of the application that—

(I) the estimated value of the thing to be forfeited exceeds F229[€75,000], or

(II) that for any reason it should decline jurisdiction,

it may, if it so thinks fit, by order transfer the application to the High Court.

(d) An application under this section shall be brought in a summary manner.

(e) (i) An order shall not be made by a court under this section unless the court is satisfied that in the circumstances all practicable steps have been taken to notify any person of the proceedings relating to the application for the order and who, in the opinion of the court, should be given the opportunity of being heard by it on that application.

(ii) The court concerned may make such order as to the costs of the parties to, or heard by the court in, the proceedings relating to an application for an order under this section as it considers appropriate.]

(2) A court shall not order anything to be forfeited under this section if a person claiming to be the owner of or otherwise interested in it applies to be heard by the court, unless an opportunity has been given to him to show cause why the order should not be made.

(3) Where a court makes an order under this section in relation to a firearm and the person convicted of the offence under this Act which caused the order to be made is the owner of the firearm, the firearm shall be disposed of, either by sale or otherwise, in such manner as the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána authorises.

F230[(4) Where an order is made under this section in relation to a thing other than a firearm to which subsection (3) of this section applies, such thing shall, as the court shall direct, either be returned to the person appearing to the court to be the owner or sold or disposed of in such other manner as the court thinks fit.]

(5) Where a firearm F231[or mechanically-propelled vehicle or vessel or aircraft] or other thing is sold pursuant to this section, the net proceeds of the sale shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance shall direct.