Seán Kenny (Dublin North East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It has been in the public domain for some time. Chief Superintendent Healy referred to the fact that licensed firearms are sometimes stolen and used by criminal gangs. There are grounds for believing that. The chief superintendent also raised the issue of what he termed assault rifles. I acknowledge Mr. Flood has won international competitions in this area. The superintendent made the point that some of the rifles used in target shooting and sports are what he called assault rifles. The rifle automatically reloads every time it is fired. It is not the old-style bolt action rifle that requires the shooter to work the bolt each time and then re-aim. The weapons in question fire continuously. The chief superintendent asked why a shooter who wishes to improve his target shooting and game shooting needs an assault rifle, which is basically a military-style weapon.