27.— (1) Where a welfare officer or member of the Garda Síochána has reasonable grounds for believing that a person has committed an offence under section 10(6), 12(17) or (18) or 15(7), he or she may serve a notice in writing (in this section referred to as a “fixed payment notice”) on that person stating that—

(a) the person is alleged to have committed the offence,

(b) the person may during the period of 28 days from the date of the notice make to the Board, the Club or the relevant local authority, as the case may be, at the address specified in the notice, as the case may be, a payment of €250 (or such other amount, being an amount not exceeding €1,000, as stands prescribed) accompanied by the notice,

(c) the person is not obliged to make the payment specified in the notice, and

(d) a prosecution in respect of the alleged offence will not be instituted during the period of 28 days specified in the notice and, if the payment specified in the notice is made during that period, no prosecution in respect of the alleged offence will be instituted.

(2) Where a fixed payment notice is given under subsection (1)—

(a) a person to whom the notice applies may, during the period of 28 days specified in the notice, make to the Board, the Club or the local authority named in the notice at the address specified in the notice the payment specified in the notice accompanied by the notice,

(b) the Board, the Club or the local authority, as the case may be, may upon receiving the payment, issue a receipt for it and any payment so received is not recoverable in any circumstances by the person who made it, and

(c) a prosecution in respect of the alleged offence shall not be instituted in the period specified in the notice, and if the payment so specified is made during that period, no prosecution in respect of the alleged offence shall be instituted.

(3) In a prosecution for an offence under this Act, the onus of proving that a payment pursuant to a notice under this section has been made lies on the defendant.

(4) In proceedings for an offence under section 10(6), 12(17) or (18) or 15(7) it is a good defence for the defendant to prove that he or she has made a payment in accordance with this section pursuant to a fixed payment notice issued in respect of that offence.

(5) Moneys received pursuant to the giving of a fixed payment notice shall be disposed of in a manner determined by the Board, Club or relevant local authority specified in the notice.

(6) In this section “relevant local authority” means, in relation to the alleged commission of an offence, the local authority in whose functional area the offence is alleged to have been committed.