18. (1) Where—

(a) a victim is a child, and

(b) a parent, guardian or any other person duly authorised to act on the victim’s behalf—

(i) has been charged with, or is under investigation for, an offence in connection with the victim,

(ii) is, for any other reason, precluded from accompanying the victim,

(iii) is unavailable or cannot be contacted,

(iv) indicates that he or she does not wish to accompany the victim, or

(v) cannot be identified,

the Garda Síochána or the Ombudsman Commission, as the case may be, shall arrange for the victim to be accompanied by an appropriate person when attending any interviews and court proceedings at which the victim is required to be present.

(2) A member of the Garda Síochána or an officer of the Ombudsman Commission, as the case may be, shall, in determining who is to be the appropriate person to accompany a child to an interview or court proceedings pursuant to subsection (1), have regard to any views expressed by the child taking into account his or her age and level of maturity.

(3) Where an appropriate person is appointed to accompany a victim, he or she shall be entitled to remain in court during the whole of any hearing.

(4) In this section, “appropriate person” means—

(a) a relative of the child, or

(b) any other person,

who is 18 years or over.