Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 2011
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Power of member of Garda Síochána to give directions. |
3.— (1) A member of the Garda Síochána may direct a person who is begging in any place and whom the member believes, upon reasonable grounds, to be acting or to have acted in a manner that— | |
(a) constitutes an offence under section 2 , or | ||
(b) gives rise to a reasonable apprehension for the safety of persons or property or for the maintenance of the public peace, | ||
to desist from acting in such manner and to leave the vicinity of that place in a peaceable and orderly manner. | ||
(2) A member of the Garda Síochána may direct a person who is begging at or near— | ||
(a) the entrance to a dwelling, | ||
(b) an automated teller machine, | ||
(c) a vending machine, or | ||
(d) a night safe, | ||
to desist from begging and to leave the vicinity of that place in a peaceable and orderly manner. | ||
(3) A member of the Garda Síochána may direct a person who is begging at or near the entrance to a business premises, at any time when that premises is open for the transaction of business with members of the public, to desist from begging and to leave the vicinity of that place in a peaceable and orderly manner, if the member has reasonable grounds for believing that, by reason of the person’s behaviour or the number of persons begging at or near the premises, members of the public are being, or are likely to be, deterred from entering the premises. | ||
(4) A member of the Garda Síochána may direct a person (other than the owner or occupier of the place subsequently referred to in this subsection) who is begging in a private place to desist from begging and to leave that place and the vicinity thereof in a peaceable and orderly manner. | ||
(5) A person who contravenes a direction under this section is guilty of an offence and is liable, on summary conviction, to a class E fine. | ||
(6) A member of the Garda Síochána shall, upon giving a direction under this section, inform the person to whom the direction is given, in clear language, that if he or she fails to comply with the direction he or she shall be guilty of an offence. | ||
(7) A member of the Garda Síochána shall not perform functions under this section while in a dwelling unless he or she is in the dwelling with the consent of the owner or occupier of the dwelling. | ||
(8) This section shall not operate to limit the right of the owner or occupier of a private place to require a person who is begging at that place to— | ||
(a) desist from begging, or | ||
(b) leave that place. | ||
(9) In this section— | ||
“automated teller machine” means a machine designed to enable a person, by means of the use of a cash card, credit card or debit card, to— | ||
(a) withdraw cash from, or lodge cash to, an account (including a bank account), or | ||
(b) conduct other personal financial transactions; | ||
“business premises” means a premises that is normally used for— | ||
(a) the carrying on of any professional, commercial or industrial undertaking, or | ||
(b) the provision of services to members of the public; | ||
“night safe” means a device located on the external wall of a premises occupied by a bank or other financial services provider in which money, in whatever form, may be deposited by or on behalf of customers of that bank or financial services provider; | ||
“vending machine” means a machine designed to enable a person to purchase goods or services by means of— | ||
(a) the use of a debit card or credit card, or | ||
(b) the deposit in the machine of money or tokens used as a substitute for money. |