9. (1) Subject to this Part, a member of Garda personnel acting in the course of his or her duties may operate or cause to be operated—

(a) a recording device in—

(i) a public place, or

(ii) any other place—

(I) under a power of entry authorised by law,

(II) to which he or she was expressly or impliedly invited or permitted to be, or

(III) in which he or she is present for the purposes of the performance of his or her functions as such a member,

(b) a recording device worn on any animal controlled by him or her, in—

(i) a public place, or

(ii) any other place, where, if the member were in the same location as the recording device, the member could be in that place—

(I) under a power of entry authorised by law,

(II) as a result of being expressly or impliedly invited or permitted to be, or

(III) for the purposes of the performance of his or her functions as such a member,

or

(c) a recording device that is remotely controlled, including a device affixed to or part of an unmanned aerial vehicle.

(2) A member of Garda personnel shall not operate, or cause to be operated, a recording device unless for one of the following principal purposes:

(a) the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences;

(b) safeguarding against, and the prevention of, threats to public security, including securing public safety and public order;

(c) the protection of the security of the State;

(d) the execution of criminal penalties.

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2), a member of Garda personnel may operate a recording device where he or she—

(a) believes on reasonable grounds that an offence has been, is being, or will be committed,

(b) believes on reasonable grounds that he or she may be required to exercise force to fulfil his or her duties,

(c) is executing a court order or a warrant,

(d) is recording damage to property as a result of an offence or an act of violence or force,

(e) is recording an individual where—

(i) the member believes on reasonable grounds that the immediate making of a record by the individual is necessary and the individual is unable to write,

(ii) the member believes on reasonable grounds that the individual is dying and that he or she had been a victim of, or a witness to, an offence,

(iii) the member believes on reasonable grounds that domestic violence is occurring or may have occurred,

(iv) the member believes on reasonable grounds that a breach of the peace or a public order offence is occurring or may have occurred,

(v) the recording is of injuries to the individual that the member believes on reasonable grounds were sustained as a result of an offence or of an act of violence or force,

or

(f) considers on reasonable grounds that it is required for the performance of his or her functions.

(4) The operation of a recording device under this section—

(a) shall be necessary and proportionate with regard to the purposes of that operation under subsection (2), and, where applicable, subsection (3), and

(b) shall be presumed to be so necessary and proportionate if that operation is in accordance with an applicable code of practice.

(5) Where a member of Garda personnel is operating a recording device—

(a) subject to paragraph (b) and, in relation to body-worn cameras, section 10, the operation shall, in so far as practicable, be overt, and

(b) he or she shall, when operating the device in a dwelling, and where appropriate, notify the occupants at the start of the operation and record the notification.