61.— (1) A person is guilty of an offence if he or she, not being a member of the Garda Síochána—

(a) has in his or her possession any article of Garda uniform or any equipment supplied to a member of the Garda Síochána and is not able satisfactorily to account for possessing it,

(b) puts on or wears—

(i) without the Garda Commissioner’s permission, any article of Garda uniform of any rank or member of the Garda Síochána, or

(ii) without reasonable excuse, any imitation of such article or uniform,

or

(c) for the purpose of doing or procuring to be done any act that he or she would not by law be entitled to do or procure to be done of his or her own authority, assumes the name, designation or description of any rank of or any member of the Garda Síochána.

(2) A person is guilty of an offence if he or she, without lawful authority, has in his or her possession or uses in connection with any trade, business, calling or profession or for any other purpose any article, equipment or vehicle containing or having on it any distinctive badge or crest so closely resembling the badge or crest of the Garda Síochána as to be likely to deceive.

(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €3,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €50,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or both.

(4) Nothing in this section prevents the wearing of any uniform or dress in—

(a) a performance in a theatre, on film or on television or other media, or

(b) with the prior approval of the Garda Commissioner, a public place in the course of making a film, television or other media production.