26.—If, in the course of an investigation under section 25, it appears to the F66[Director of the Workplace Relations Commission]—

(a) that the respondent did not reply to a notification under section 21(2)(a) or to any question asked by the complainant under section 21(2)(b),

(b) that the information supplied by the respondent in response to the notification or any such question was false or misleading, or

(c) that the information supplied in response to any such question was not such as would assist the complainant in deciding whether to refer the case to the F66[Director of the Workplace Relations Commission],

the F66[Director of the Workplace Relations Commission] may draw such inferences, if any, as seem appropriate from the failure to reply or, as the case may be, the supply of information as mentioned in paragraph (b) or (c).