10.—(1) Notwithstanding any requirement made by or under any enactment or any other requirement in administrative and operational procedures, including internal procedures, all reasonable care shall be taken to ensure that the identity of a bureau officer, who is an officer of the Revenue Commissioners or an officer of the Minister for Social Welfare or the identity of any member of the staff of the Bureau, shall not be revealed.

(2) Where a bureau officer who is an officer of the Revenue Commissioners or an officer of the Minister for Social Welfare may, apart from this section, be required under the Revenue Acts or the Social Welfare Acts, as the case may be, for the purposes of exercising or performing his or her powers or duties under those Acts, to produce or show any written authority or warrant of appointment under those Acts or otherwise to identify himself or herself, the bureau officer shall—

(a) not be required to produce or show any such authority or warrant of appointment or to so identify himself or herself, for the purposes of exercising or performing his or her powers or duties under those Acts, and

(b) be accompanied by a bureau officer who is a member of the Garda Síochána and the bureau officer who is a member of the Garda Síochána shall on request by a person affected identify himself or herself as a member of the Garda Síochána, and shall state that he or she is accompanied by a bureau officer.

(3) Where, in pursuance of the functions of the Bureau, a member of the staff of the Bureau accompanies or assists a bureau officer in the exercise or performance of the bureau officer's powers or duties, the member of the staff shall be accompanied by a bureau officer who is a member of the Garda Síochána and the bureau officer who is a member of the Garda Síochána shall on request by a person affected identify himself or herself as a member of the Garda Síochána, and shall state that he or she is accompanied by a member of the staff of the Bureau.

(4) Where a bureau officer—

(a) who is an officer of the Revenue Commissioners exercises or performs any of his or her powers or duties under the Revenue Acts or any provision of any other enactment, whether passed before or after the passing of this Act, which relates to revenue, in writing, or

(b) who is an officer of the Minister for Social Welfare exercises or performs any of his or her powers or duties under the Social Welfare Acts in writing,

such exercise or performance of his or her powers or duties shall be done in the name of the Bureau and not in the name of the individual bureau officer involved, notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in any of those enactments.

(5) Any document relating to proceedings arising out of the exercise or performance by a bureau officer of his or her powers or duties shall not reveal the identity of any bureau officer who is an officer of the Revenue Commissioners or an officer of the Minister for Social Welfare or of any member of the staff of the Bureau, provided that where such document is adduced in evidence, subsection (7) shall apply.

(6) In any proceedings the identity of any bureau officer who is an officer of the Revenue Commissioners or an officer of the Minister for Social Welfare or of any member of the staff of the Bureau other than that he or she is a bureau officer or the member of such staff, shall not be revealed other than, in the case of a hearing before a court, to the judge hearing the case, or in any other case the person in charge of the hearing, provided that, where the identity of such a bureau officer or member of the staff of the Bureau is relevant to the evidence adduced in the proceedings, subsection (7) shall apply.

(7) In any proceedings where a bureau officer or a member of the staff of the Bureau may be required to give evidence, whether by affidavit or certificate, or oral evidence—

(a) the judge, in the case of proceedings before a court, or

(b) the person in charge of the proceedings, in any other case,

may, on the application of the Chief Bureau Officer, if satisfied that there are reasonable grounds in the public interest to do so, give such directions for the preservation of the anonymity of the bureau officer or member of the staff of the Bureau as he or she thinks fit, including directions as to—

(i) the restriction of the circulation of affidavits or certificates,

(ii) the deletion from affidavits or certificates of the name and address of any bureau officer or member of the staff of the Bureau, including the deponent and certifier, or

(iii) the giving of evidence in the hearing but not the sight of any person.

(8) In this section “member of the staff of the Bureau” means a member of the staff of the Bureau appointed under section 9.