Mr. Philip Slattery:

Yes. Another picture shows a Remington R-25. This relates to a case I dealt with in Limerick in which the owner was refused a licence for this firearm because it was classed as an assault rifle. It can be seen from my notes that I have included the manufacturer's website classification of the firearm. While it is based on a miniature rifle, it is so far from it that it is not one at all. The rifle can never be fired in a fully automatic manner.

For these firearms to be licensed and imported into Germany, the BKA has to conduct a test on them. Section 3a of the documentation I have furnished to the committee consists of a translation of the official document that was used when an importer wanted to import a firearm from Remington Arms, provide it with different magazines and change the colour patterns, etc. Essentially the BKA decided that the firearm in question could not be converted to being fully automatic with the use of simple tools. While it might look like an assault rifle to a lay person, it can never function in that way. Its colour has never been used by any military force. Its barrel does not offer any military advantage - in fact, the opposite is the case as it is designed solely for accuracy. Its magazine capacity is relatively low compared to that of an assault rifle.

Last week the committee was shown a picture of an Overland Arms rifle, which is manufactured in Germany for the German and worldwide markets. If this was an assault rifle, it would not be permissible to manufacture it in Germany. It cannot function as a fully automatic weapon.

The same applies to the Heckler & Koch SL8 which is shown on page 6 of my documentation. I was involved in a case involving this rifle in Dublin. Interestingly enough, it involved a person living in Lucan who had a pistol also. He was refused a firearms licence on the grounds that they were military weapons. When we went to court, he got his guns back. This case revealed some of the differences in this area. The person's friend who was living in Phibsboro had two pistols and a semi-automatic rifle that were licensed. These two people travelled all over the world to shoot with their guns. That is the level of difference. It is made clear on the website of the maker of this rifle that it is designed to be used for target shooting. It is not designed for assaulting or anything other than what it is designed for.

The MKE T43 which is shown in section 5 of my documentation is a copy of the Heckler & Koch 33 which is an assault rifle. This one is for sale in the German market. It was my gun. I used to own it until I sold it. I licensed it in County Clare, but the new owner could not license it in Limerick. On the day the case went to court, the new owner of the gun produced a technical document from the German federal police - this can be seen in section 5a of my documentation - showing all aspects of the design of the gun that ensured it could never function as a fully automatic weapon. The new owner of the gun uses it for target shooting.

A licence for an M1 Grand rifle which is shown in section 6 on page 9 of my documentation was granted in Limerick following a court case. However, the Garda again described it as being an assault rifle. Under Irish law, an assault rifle is a fully automatic firearm or one that resembles it. The M1 Grand rifle was never produced as a fully automatic. It is an ex-service rifle that was used by the Americans, much like the FN rifle was used by the FCA.

The pistol that corresponds with the Heckler & Koch SL8 that I mentioned is shown on page 10 of my documentation. This custom made gun was hand built at a cost of €2,800. My client in this case was refused a licence on the basis that it was used by military and police forces around the world. I e-mailed the guy in Germany who had built it when I was conducting research for the case. He told me it was like comparing a Willys Jeep to a Ferrari. He said they were so different that they were incomparable. No part of this gun will fit the Colt 45 from which it was originally designed. If members turn to page 11, they will see what the original pistol is like. This gun is so advanced that it is called the 2011 rather than the 1911 pistol. As I said, no part of it will fit the original pistol. The stance the Garda has taken in this regard is that these pistols are military firearms when, in fact, they are not. If one put a grain of sand inside one of these pistols, it would not work. Their tolerance levels are that tight and the firearms are that accurate. Such a level of dirt in the gun would stop it. A military firearm would keep on working in the same circumstances. I hope that answers the Deputy's question.