Mr. Declan Keogh:

In response to Deputy McGrath, I would say that public safety is at the forefront of everything that we do. In my opening summary, I mentioned all of the aspects of range construction, range membership, conditions that are laid down and storage conditions - everything that relates back to the 2006 Act, which is extremely strong in its requirement for a person to prove that one is the right person to hold a firearm.

On the reason the term "scaremongering" was used, the reality is that the current legislation is extremely effective. Despite the fact that people may say that criminals, if they cannot get access to firearms, may target our lawfully held firearms, the facts speak for themselves. Our firearms are not targeted by criminals because they have no issues in importing unlawful firearms. Indeed, in the news this week there was talk of the Balkans, where there are still 750,000 illegally held firearms in a country which has the same land mass as Europe. The Garda has contended, and maybe has a fear, that criminals will target our firearms, but the facts speak for themselves. They do not. We have a good system of security and we must prove it before we get the licence. An applicant for a firearm has to have the required security arrangements in his or her home, and sign the document stating he or she has the level of security at home that is required, before the license will be granted. It is also a fact - this is published data, to which I included a link in my submission - that there are estimated to be 155,000 illegal firearms floating around the South of Ireland. If the firearms are taken from us and the criminals then decide to look at Northern Ireland, there are 14,000 handguns there. Would they not be easy targets? The facts speak for themselves. In relation to our firearms, we are not targets of criminality.