Mr. Damien Hannigan:

In response to Deputy Kenny's question on assault rifles, in my opening statement I mentioned flaws in the report. In particular, I draw his attention to section 4, which proposes amendments to the Firearms Act regarding conditions for the granting of a firearms certificate. Without going through the full list, some of the proposed amendments that would warrant refusal for a firearms permit would be the lethality of the firearm and the size, shape and appearance of the firearm. My colleagues described the differences in detail.

In our day-to-day dealings with members of An Garda Síochána we can find that in one Garda district a certain firearm was granted to one of our members whereas if one travels down the road to another Garda district, a person of a similar background could be refused for the same firearm. That demonstrates the inconsistency in the process. This proposed amendment to section 4 of the Act is of real concern to our members because it will exacerbate that issue in the future.