98.— (1) If directed by the Ombudsman Commission under section 91(2)(b), 92(c), 94(8)(a) or 94(11)(b) to investigate a complaint under this section, a designated officer has F144[…] for the purposes of the investigation all the powers, immunities and privileges conferred and all the duties imposed on any member of the Garda Síochána by or under any enactment or the common law, including those relating to the following matters:

(a) the entry and search of any place (other than a Garda Síochána station) pursuant to a warrant issued in accordance with law and the seizure of things authorised by the warrant;

(b) the arrest, with or without a warrant, of a person;

(c) the bringing of a charge against a person;

(d) the issue of a summons to a person;

(e) the search of a person and the taking of his or her photograph, fingerprints and palmprints;

(f) the detention and questioning of a person;

(g) the taking of bodily samples or other things from a person for the purpose of forensic testing.

(2) For the purpose of subsection (1), an enactment conferring a power, immunity or privilege or imposing a duty on a member of the Garda Síochána in relation to any of the matters specified in that subsection applies with the following modifications and any other necessary modifications:

(a) subject to paragraph (c), a reference in the enactment to a member of the Garda Síochána is to be read as a reference to a designated officer of the Ombudsman Commission;

(b) a reference in section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 or in the Criminal Justice Act 1984 (Treatment of Persons in Custody in Garda Síochána Stations) Regulations 1987 (S.I. No. 119 of 1987) to a member in charge of a Garda Síochána station is to be read as a reference to a designated officer of the Ombudsman Commission;

(c) a reference in the enactment to a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of inspector is to be read as a reference to a member of the Ombudsman Commission.

(3) Any person who delays, obstructs or interferes with a designated officer in the exercise of the powers conferred or the carrying out of the duties imposed under this section is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding €3,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both.

(4) An investigation of a matter under this section does not preclude the subsequent investigation of the matter under section 95.

(5) For the purposes of this section—

F145[“enactment” means a statute or statutory instrument, whether passed or made before or after the passing of this Act or any portion of such a statute or statutory instrument, but does not include any provision of the Offences against the State Acts 1939 to 1998;]

“place” includes a dwelling.