254.—(1) Where a member of the Garda Síochána reasonably suspects—

(a) that an offence under this Part or any offence mentioned in Schedule 1 has been committed or attempted, and

(b) that a person has committed any such offence or attempted to commit it,

the member may arrest the person without warrant if the member—

(i) reasonably suspects that unless the person is arrested he or she either will abscond for the purposes of evading justice or will obstruct the course of justice,

(ii) having enquired of the person, has reasonable doubts as to the person’s identity or place of abode, or

(iii) has reasonable grounds for believing that there is an immediate and serious risk to the safety, health or wellbeing of the child concerned.

(2) Subsection (1) is without prejudice to any other powers exercisable by a member of the Garda Síochána.

(3) Section 68 (which empowers members of the Garda Síochána to release a child on bail in certain cases) shall apply to a child arrested under this section and section 31 of the Act of 1967 shall apply to an adult so arrested.

(4) Where a member of the Garda Síochána makes an arrest under this section and the member has reasonable grounds for believing that—

(a) there is an immediate and serious risk to the safety, health or wellbeing of the child, and

(b) it would not be sufficient for the protection of the child from such immediate and serious risk to await the making of an application for an emergency care order by F227[the F228[Child and Family Agency]] under section 13 of the Act of 1991,

the member may remove the child to safety and the provisions of Part III of the Act of 1991 shall then apply as if the removal were a removal under section 12 of that Act.

(5) For the purpose of arresting a person under any power conferred by this section a member of the Garda Síochána, accompanied by such other members of the Garda Síochána or such other persons as may be necessary, may enter (if need be, by force) and search any place where the person is or the member reasonably suspects him or her to be.