Mr. Michael Tope:

We put forward such a proposal and we included it in our detailed submission. We put it forward to address the concerns raised by the Department of Justice and Equality about a perceived dramatic growth in centre fire pistol ownership. Whether one agrees or disagrees with the Department's perception, we felt we should help solve the problem.

In our view the Department did not seem to have an issue with the right type of people - target firearms people - having firearms. It was concerned that people who were not necessarily dedicated target shooters might get a licence for these firearms. We then built on an idea from a senior civil servant to have a graduated scheme like motorcycle licensing, from 50 cc up to a 1,000 cc motorcycle. We developed a scheme which we felt would work and put it forward in our submission to the Department. Let me give an example. If centre fire pistol licensing was back on the table again, and I hope that it is, there would not be a dramatic rise in applications because it was only people who had proved their interest in the sport and developed a capability who would be capable of obtaining such licences. The same applies for small calibre pistols and various types of rifles. One must work one's way up the categories.