16.—(1) A dog warden may—

(a) where he has reasonable grounds for believing that a person is committing, or has committed, an offence under this Act or under any regulation or bye-law made thereunder, request of the person his name and address and may request that any information given be verified;

(b) seize any dog and detain it in order to ascertain whether an offence under this Act is being or has been committed and may enter any premises (other than a dwelling) for the purposes of such seizure and detention;

(c) enter any premises (other than a dwelling) for the purpose of preventing or ending—

(i) an attack by a dog on any person, or

(ii) the worrying of livestock;

(d) enter any premises (other than a dwelling)—

(i) which are registered in accordance with regulations made under section 19 of this Act, or

F13[(ii) where he has reasonable grounds for believing that a guard dog is, or more than 5 dogs that are aged over 4 months are, kept,]

and therein examine such dogs as he may find there and the kennels or part of the premises in which the dogs are kept;

(e) request any person who owns, is in charge of, or is in possession of a dog to produce, as the case may be, a dog licence or a general dog licence, within ten days of the date of the request, for examination by the dog warden.

(2) A dog warden, in exercising a power of entry into any premises under this Act, may bring with him into such premises such other persons as he believes to be necessary for the purpose of assisting him in the exercise of his powers and functions under this Act and the dog warden and any such other person may take with them into the premises such equipment as they consider to be necessary.

(3) Any person who—

(a) obstructs or impedes a dog warden in the exercise of his functions under this Act, or

(b) refuses to give his name and address to a dog warden when requested so to do, or who gives a name or address which is false or misleading when so requested,

shall be guilty of an offence F14[…].

(4) Where a member of the Garda Síochána is of opinion that a person is committing or has committed an offence under this section, he may arrest the person without warrant.

F15[(5) (a) Where a dog has been seized under subsection (1) (b) of this section and the dog warden who seized it is satisfied that an offence under this Act has been committed in relation to the dog, the dog may either be detained until the District Court has made an order in relation to it or be destroyed unless—

(i) within 5 days of such seizure, the owner of the dog or some other person undertakes in writing to pay to the local authority in whose functional area the dog was seized, in such manner, at such time or times and by means of such number of payments as may be specified in the undertaking, the reasonable cost of keeping the dog, and

(ii) the terms of the undertaking are complied with by the owner or other person, as the case may be.

(b) An amount due and unpaid by a person pursuant to an undertaking under paragraph (a) of this subsection may be recovered from the person by the local authority concerned as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.]