Machete's - Illegal to own or illegal to carry?

EVanB

Just wondering whats the legal status of machetes? Do they fall under the same kind of legal area as other bladed garden/survival tools in that theyre legal to own but illegal to carry in public or are they flat out verboten? Also is the definition on what is and isnt a machete fairly tight or fairly loose e.g. would a beet knife count as a machete?

MagicSean

EVanB wrote: »

Just wondering whats the legal status of machetes? Do they fall under the same kind of legal area as other bladed garden/survival tools in that theyre legal to own but illegal to carry in public or are they flat out verboten? Also is the definition on what is and isnt a machete fairly tight or fairly loose e.g. would a beet knife count as a machete?

You use a machete in your garden? The firearms and offensive weapons act prohibits their posession in a public place. It also includes your vehcile when travelling. The legal definition is any article which has a blade or is sharply pointed. It doesn't matter what kind of knife it is.

cheeseshop

Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act, 1990
PART III OFFENSIVE WEAPONS
Possession of knives and other articles.

9.—(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), where a person has with him in any public place any knife or any other article which has a blade or which is sharply pointed, he shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (1) to prove that he had good reason or lawful authority for having the article with him in a public place.

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2), it shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (1) to prove that he had the article with him for use at work or for a recreational purpose.

(4) Where a person, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse (the onus of proving which shall lie on him), has with him in any public place—

( a ) any flick-knife, or

( b ) any other article whatsoever made or adapted for use for causing injury to or incapacitating a person,

he shall be guilty of an offence.

(5) Where a person has with him in any public place any article intended by him unlawfully to cause injury to, incapacitate or intimidate any person either in a particular eventuality or otherwise, he shall be guilty of an offence.

(6) In a prosecution for an offence under subsection (5), it shall not be necessary for the prosecution to allege or prove that the intent to cause injury, incapacitate or intimidate was intent to cause injury to, incapacitate or intimidate a particular person; and if, having regard to all the circumstances (including the type of the article alleged to have been intended to cause injury, incapacitate or intimidate, the time of the day or night, and the place), the court (or the jury as the case may be) thinks it reasonable to do so, it may regard possession of the article as sufficient evidence of intent in the absence of any adequate explanation by the accused.

( 7 ) ( a ) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or to both.

( b ) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (4) or (5) shall be liable—

(i) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or to both, or

(ii) on conviction on indictment, to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to both.

(8) In this section "public place" includes any highway and any other premises or place to which at the material time the public have or are permitted to have access, whether on payment or otherwise, and includes any club premises and any train, vessel or vehicle used for the carriage of persons for reward.

I want to use a machete to clear briars on a piece of land that I have to travel to by bus, but how do you actually prove you have a 'good reason' to carry one?

Victor

Butting briars is not a good reason to have a machete when a secateurs would do the job.

law86

If it is properly and fully sheathed in some way (even just wrapped up in cloth and masking tape) and you have a legitimate reason for having it with you, you should not be under suspicion. However, I think the gardai would be more suspicious of a machete than they would be of more common, indigenous(ish) tools like slash hooks or sickles, due to the association of the machete with bravado and crime.

MagicSean

law86 wrote: »

If it is properly and fully sheathed in some way (even just wrapped up in cloth and masking tape) and you have a legitimate reason for having it with you, you should not be under suspicion. However, I think the gardai would be more suspicious of a machete than they would be of more common, indigenous(ish) tools like slash hooks or sickles, due to the association of the machete with bravado and crime.

There are no jungles in Ireland so no need for a machete. If caught with it it would most likely be seized and you would probably be charged. Your solicitor might convince a judge to let you off in court but a garda would be very unlikely to accept gardening as an excuse.

law86

k_mac wrote: »

There are no jungles in Ireland so no need for a machete. If caught with it it would most likely be seized and you would probably be charged. Your solicitor might convince a judge to let you off in court but a garda would be very unlikely to accept gardening as an excuse.

As I said, gardai are more likely to be suspicious of a machete.

It does depend on the location, time, demeanour of OP and garda involved though. In a rural area, daytime, with reasonable local knowledge, and a straight believable reason, with a reasonable garda, a charge is not inevitable.

It's a lot of "ifs" for a few briars though.

MagicSean

law86 wrote: »

As I said, gardai are more likely to be suspicious of a machete.

It does depend on the location, time, demeanour of OP and garda involved though. In a rural area, daytime, with reasonable local knowledge, and a straight believable reason, with a reasonable garda, a charge is not inevitable.

It's a lot of "ifs" for a few briars though.

What would the reasonable reason be though? It's like being caught with dynamite and saying its for fishing.

law86

The reason would be to cut down the briars. A machete is an agricultural tool, in its proper use, and is perfect for cutting back large areas of scrub.

But I agree with you that you could likely end up in strife, it's not a risk I would take for the sake of being technically in the right.

itsoffice

Is it actually illegal to own a machete?

BornToKill

The Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act, 1990 (Offensive Weapons) Order, 1991 (S.I. 66 of 1991) prohibits the manufacture, importation, sale, hire or loan of offensive weapons. 2(q) of that statutory instrument specifically lists ‘the broad knife known as a machete or matchet’ as an offensive weapon.

Essentially, this means that one cannot legally import a machete and that it can’t be sold in this country. Section 9 of the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act, 1990 makes it an offence to possess any article ‘whatsoever made or adapted for use for causing injury to or incapacitating a person in a public place’.

You would have to establish that you had lawful authority or reasonable excuse but the onus of proving this falls on the accused. So, if you had a machete pre-1991 you would not be committing an offence as long as you just keep it at home. Obtaining one subsequently, or carrying one in a public place, runs afoul of the law.