Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024
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Inquiry under section 31(3)(a) | ||
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32. (1) An appointed judge may conduct an inquiry under section 31 (3)(a) in the manner he or she thinks proper, whether by examining witnesses or otherwise, and may, in particular, conduct any proceedings relating to the inquiry otherwise than in public. | ||
(2) For the purpose of an inquiry under this section, the appointed judge has the powers, rights and privileges vested in a judge of the High Court on the hearing of an action, including the power to— | ||
(a) enforce the attendance of witnesses, and | ||
(b) compel the production of records. | ||
(3) A person who does or omits to do anything that, if the inquiry were a court of law having the power to punish for contempt, would be contempt of such court, is guilty of an offence and is liable, on summary conviction, to a class C fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, or both. | ||
(4) A statement or admission made by a person to an appointed judge in an inquiry under section 31 (3)(a) shall not be admissible as evidence in proceedings brought against that person for an offence (other than an offence under subsection (3)). | ||
(5) The Minister may issue a directive to the Garda Commissioner, a Deputy Garda Commissioner or an Assistant Garda Commissioner requiring that person to take any lawful measures that appear to the person to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of— | ||
(a) preserving evidence relating to the matter the subject of the inquiry under section 31 (3)(a), and | ||
(b) facilitating the appointed judge to obtain that evidence. |