2.—(1) F2[(a) Where a member of the Garda Síochána arrests without warrant, whether in a Garda Síochána station or elsewhere, a person (an "arrested person") whom he or she, with reasonable cause, suspects of having committed a drug trafficking offence, the arrested person—

(i) if not already in a Garda Síochána station, may be taken to and detained in a Garda Síochána station, or

(ii) if he or she is arrested in a Garda Síochána station, may be detained in the station,

for a period or periods authorised by subsection (2) if the member of the Garda Síochána in charge of the station to which the arrested person is taken on arrest or in which he or she is arrested has at the time of the arrested person's arrival at the station or his or her arrest in the station, as may be appropriate, reasonable grounds for believing that his or her detention is necessary for the proper investigation of the offence.]

(b) Without prejudice to paragraph (a), where a member of the Garda Síochána suspects an arrested person of concealing in his or her person a controlled drug, that person may—

(i) be taken to a place of detention, and

(ii) if a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of inspector who is not investigating the drug trafficking offence has, at the time of that person's arrival there, reasonable grounds for believing that his or her detention is necessary for the proper investigation of the drug trafficking offence, be detained in that place of detention for a period or periods authorised by subsection (2).

(2) (a) The period for which a person may be detained under subsection (1) shall, subject to the provisions of this subsection, not exceed 6 hours from the time of his or her arrest.

(b) An officer of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of F3[superintendent] may direct that a person detained under subsection (1) be detained for a further period not exceeding 18 hours if he or she has reasonable grounds for believing that such further detention is necessary for the proper investigation of the offence concerned.

(c) An officer of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of chief superintendent may direct that a person detained pursuant to a direction under paragraph (b) be detained for a further period not exceeding 24 hours, if he or she has reasonable grounds for believing that such further detention is necessary for the proper investigation of the offence concerned.

(d) A direction under paragraph (b) or (c) may be given orally or in writing and, if given orally, shall be recorded in writing as soon as practicable.

(e) Where a direction has been given under paragraph (b) or (c), the fact that the direction was given, the date and time when it was given and the name and rank of the officer of the Garda Síochána who gave it shall be recorded.

(f) The direction or, if it was given orally, the written record of it shall be signed by the officer giving it and—

(i) shall state the date and time when it was given, the officer's name and rank and that the officer had reasonable grounds for believing that such further detention was necessary for the proper investigation of the offence concerned, and

(ii) shall be attached to and form part of the custody record (within the meaning of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 (Treatment of Persons in Custody in Garda Síochána Stations) Regulations, 1987) in respect of the person concerned.

(g) (i) An officer of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of chief superintendent may apply to a judge of the Circuit Court or a judge of the District Court for a warrant authorising the detention of a person detained pursuant to a direction under paragraph (c) for a further period not exceeding 72 hours if he or she has reasonable grounds for believing that such further detention is necessary for the proper investigation of the offence concerned.

(ii) On an application under subparagraph (i) the judge concerned shall issue a warrant authorising the detention of the person to whom the application relates for a further period not exceeding 72 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.

(h) (i) An officer of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of chief superintendent may apply to a judge of the Circuit Court or a judge of the District Court for a warrant authorising the detention of a person detained under a warrant issued pursuant to paragraph (g) (ii) for a further period not exceeding 48 hours, if he or she has reasonable grounds for believing that such further detention is necessary for the proper investigation of the offence concerned.

(ii) On an application under subparagraph (i) the judge concerned shall issue a warrant authorising the detention of the person to whom the application relates for a further period not exceeding 48 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.

(3) On an application under subsection (2) 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.

F4[(3A) (a) Without prejudice to paragraph (b), where a judge hearing an application under subsection (2) is satisfied, in order to avoid a risk of prejudice to the investigation concerned, that it is desirable to do so, he or she 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 (2), the judge may, of his or her own motion or on application by the officer of the Garda Síochána making the application under subsection (2), 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 or registrars 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), 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)).

(d) No person shall publish or broadcast or cause to be published or broadcast any information about an application under subsection (2) 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), 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 imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both, or

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

(f) Where an offence under this subsection has been committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of a person being a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate, or a person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, that person as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of an offence and be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he or she were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.

(g) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, paragraph (f) shall apply in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his or her functions of management as if he or she were a director or manager of the body corporate.

(h) 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.

(3B) Save where any rule of law requires such an issue to be determined by the Court, in an application under subsection (2) no issue as to the lawfulness of the arrest or detention of the person to whom the application relates may be raised.

(3C) (a) In an application under subsection (2) 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 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.]

(4) When issuing a warrant under subsection (2) the judge concerned may order that the person concerned be brought before a judge of the Circuit Court or a judge of the District Court at a specified time or times during the period of detention specified in the warrant and if, upon the person's being so brought before such a judge, he or she is not satisfied that the person's detention is justified, the judge shall revoke the warrant and order the immediate release from custody of the person.

(5) If at any time during the detention of a person pursuant to this section there are no longer reasonable grounds for believing that his or her detention is necessary for the proper investigation of the offence to which the detention relates, he or she shall, subject to subsection (6), be released from custody forthwith unless he or she is charged or caused to be charged with an offence and is brought before a court as soon as may be in connection with such charge or his or her detention is authorised apart from this Act.

(6) 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 a drug trafficking 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, a member 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 that 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.

(7) To avoid doubt, it is hereby declared that a person shall not be detained pursuant to this section for more than 168 hours from the time of his or her arrest, not including any period which is to be excluded under section 4 (8) of the Act of 1984 (as applied by section 5) in reckoning a period of detention.

F5[(7A) Notwithstanding subsections (2) and (7), if—

(a) an application is to be made, or is made, under subsection (2) for a warrant authorising the detention for a further period of a person detained under that subsection, and

(b) the period of detention under that subsection 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 or registrar 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.]

(8) Nothing in this section shall affect the operation of section 30 of the Act of 1939 or section 4 of the Act of 1984.

(9) (a) The Minister may make regulations prescribing specified places as places where a person may be detained pursuant to subsection (1) (b), and a place for the time being standing so specified is referred to in this Act as a “place of detention”.

(b) Section 7 of the Act of 1984 and any regulations made thereunder shall, with any necessary modifications, apply in relation to places of detention as they apply in relation to Garda Síochána stations.

(10) Every regulation made under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.