Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
302. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide by year the number of handguns recovered by an Garda Síochána during the years 2004 to date in 2015 which had been used in the commission of a crime and which had previously been recorded on PULSE as a licensed firearm; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3562/15]

Frances Fitzgerald (Minister, Department of Justice and Equality; Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)

I have asked the Garda Commissioner for a report in relation to the matter and will write to the Deputy as soon as I have further information.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
320. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will address a matter (details supplied) raised by her Dáil contribution of 15 January 2015; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3936/15]

Frances Fitzgerald (Minister, Department of Justice and Equality; Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)

Firstly I would like to clarify to the Deputy that in answering a Parliamentary Question on 15 January, I inadvertently said 1,363 firearms applications were refused by the District Courts. The applications referred to, totalling 1,363 applications, were refused by An Garda Síochána and not by the Courts. I have arranged to have the Dáil record corrected to reflect that fact.

Section 8 of the Working Group Report on the review of firearms licensing, published for consultation in November 2013, sets out views expressed by members of the judiciary in relation to legislative provisions governing firearms. The Deputy will appreciate that it would not be appropriate for me to comment on individual cases before the Courts. However, I am advised that over the past four years, Judges in District Courts have commented that it is a matter for the legislature and not the judiciary to address the concerns of senior Garda Officers tasked with considering applications to licence, in particular, large calibre handguns and semi automatic centre fire rifles. For example, I am advised by An Garda Síochána that Judge Lucey, in various District Courts throughout the country, Judge O‘Kelly in Limerick District Court and Judge Kennedy in Bray District Court have dealt with the issue that as the legislation currently allows for the licensing of such firearms, the law must be applied as it currently exists.

Furthermore, An Garda Síochána have advised that judges have raised issues in relation to interpreting Section 33 of the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, which prohibits 'practical or dynamic shooting'. I am advised by An Garda Síochána that Judge Riordan in Cork District Court, Judge McNulty in Bandon District Court, Judge Larkin in Kilmallock District Court, Judge Neylon in Mullingar District Court and Judge Kelleher in Cork District Court have commented on the difficulties in interpreting what exactly constitutes 'a form of activity in which firearms are used to simulate combat or combat training', which was a central issue in appeal cases before these courts.

Additionally, Judge Durcan, in a written judgment in Ennis District Court on 5 November, 2014, addressed an issue relating to the interpretation of the legislation when he stated: “By way of casual initial observation, it must be said that the manner of amendment adopted by the legislature with respect to the Firearms Code is to be regretted. The 2006 Act amends substantially fourteen of the thirty sections of the Principal Act, six important sections of the Principal Act being completely amended by substitution. The 2009 Act contains an additional 20 sections which effect considerable amendments to the code. It is highly unsatisfactory that the code must now be read by reference to a number of different statutes, when the opportunity could have been taken to provide a consolidating statute. Despite developments in information technology and the empowerment of computer consolidation, Statue Law should be easily accessible not merely to Lawyers and Legislators, but also to ordinary citizens in a comprehensible manner”.

The Deputy has also raised the question of the ability of the Garda PULSE system to produce figures on the number of cases which were appealed to the District Court and how many were granted. The Deputy will appreciate that firearms legislation provides for an appeal to the District Court where a firearms licence has been refused by An Garda Síochána. I am informed that the information sought regarding such cases is not readily available to An Garda Síochána or the Courts Service. The work required to collate this information could only be retrieved by way of a manual examination of each individual court record. This would require a disproportionate and inordinate amount of staff time and effort and could not be justified in current circumstances where there are other significant demands on resources. Furthermore, An Garda Síochána have advised that refused renewal applications for restricted firearms that were subsequently granted on appeal are no longer recorded on PULSE as refused or appealed. These applications are updated on the system to show the application as granted. I understand this new method of updating the licensing system on PULSE was introduced to address concerns of interest groups, so that licence holders granted a licence after an appeal do not have an initial refusal recorded on their licence record.

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

Somone might want to point out to the chairman it was1972 not 1979 that the TCO came into effect.

52. Mr Healy: Guns were surrendered to the Army in the 1970s because of the ongoing situation in the jurisdiction and the Army still has these guns.

This is not a full representation of the events of 1972. In short, the Troubles in Northern Ireland were becoming a security concern for the Irish government at the time, and in 1972 a Temporary Custody Order (S.I. No. 187/1972 – Firearms (Temporary Custody) Order, 1972) was issued for all privately held pistols and all rifles over .22 calibre to be surrendered to local Garda stations by August 5 1972, for a period of one month.

This order was complied with, but when firearms owners returned to reclaim their firearms a month later, they were informed that their certificates had expired while their firearms were in custody (firearms certificates at the time were issued for a period of one year, and all renewals were dealt with at the same time). Since the firearms were no longer licenced, they could not be returned until a new certificate was issued; upon seeking a renewal of their certificates, applicants were informed that a new Garda policy was in place to not consider applications for certificates in respect of pistols or rifles over .22 in calibre. As such, the firearms in Garda custody remained in Garda custody.

This situation continued until the late 1990s, when fullbore rifles of calibres up to .270 Winchester were permitted to be applied for for the purposes of deer hunting on humane grounds (prior to this, only the .22–250 cartridge was available for deer hunting and it was felt to be only barely capable of this task). All other firearms held in custody remained there, until the repeal of the Garda policy following the Brophy case. Following this, firearms held in storage by the Gardaí were reclaimed by those owners still alive or their descendants. As these pistols were never formally confiscated (and some were sold off by their owners and removed from Garda custody in that manner), no compensation was claimable by the owners. Following Brophy, the Supreme Court upheld in McVeigh that the policy of not consdering applications for firearms certificates for handguns had been unlawful.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
324. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality when she will refer the Firearms Act 1925 to the Law Reform Commission to thoroughly review it, and advise what the law should be in the 21st century; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7055/15]

Frances Fitzgerald (Minister, Department of Justice and Equality; Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)

The Law Reform Commission (LRC) has restated the Firearms Acts and this “administrative consolidation” is available on the LRC website. The restatement is dated 31 October 2012 and it contains all amendments to the Firearms Acts.

In light of public safety concerns highlighted by An Garda Síochána, a joint Department of Justice and Equality/An Garda Síochána Working Group was established by my Department to review firearms licensing. The report of this Working Group was published on 13 November 2014 and submissions on the report were sought from stakeholders and the public by 31 January 2015.

These submissions are now being considered. Consolidation of the law on firearms will be considered further when I have met interest groups following consideration of the submissions.

Tony McLoughlin (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
121. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality regarding the proposed new legislation restricting certain licensed firearms, the current efforts to tackle the high number of illegal firearms, which is estimated to be more than 100,000; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7585/15]
122. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the protection local businesses affected by the proposed new firearms legislation will be offered; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7587/15]
125. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the compensation to be provided to persons affected by the proposed new firearms legislation, who will have to surrender or destroy their weapons and recreational equipment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7636/15]

Frances Fitzgerald (Minister, Department of Justice and Equality; Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 121, 122 and 125 together.

I should say initially that my Department is not aware of any reliable basis for the figure quoted in the Deputy's question as representing the number of illegal firearms here.

In light of public safety concerns highlighted by An Garda Síochána, a joint Department of Justice and Equality/An Garda Síochána Working Group was established by the Department of Justice and Equality to review firearms licensing. The report of this Working Group was published on 13 November 2014 and submissions on the report were sought from stakeholders and the public by 31 January 2015. The consultation process gave individuals and groups an opportunity to contribute to the development of firearms policy and legislation and will enable consideration to be given to the future direction of such legislation.

The submissions received are currently being examined and incorporated into a report for me. The Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality has also sought submissions and held hearings with interested parties in relation to the Working Party report. It is expected that their report on the issue will be available in a number of weeks.
I understand the Deputy's Question No 122 relates to what effects, if any, proposed changes to firearms licensing will have on firearms dealers. I wish to advise that the majority of licensed and licensable shotguns and rifles in this State will not be affected by the proposals to amend the firearms licensing system.

The issue of compensation which the Deputy raises is dealt with at Section 13 of the Working Group Report. The report states that the Courts have held that the possession of a firearm is not a right but a privilege. The Courts have in the past taken the view that what is in the State's gift cannot be required to be compensated if it is withdrawn.

I have already given a commitment that I will not make any final decisions until I have considered all the submissions which have been made and have met the key stakeholders, including the organisations who represent those who use firearms for sporting purposes. These meetings will take place following receipt and consideration of both my Department's and the Oireachtas Committee reports.

I have asked the Garda Commissioner for a report in relation to specific measures being taken to tackle illegal firearms. I will reply further to the Deputy when that information becomes available.