Mr. Nicholas Flood:

That is a really good question and when one looks at the history of Ireland, one can understand why An Garda Síochána has been charged with ensuring public safety. It has done a fantastic job in that regard and still does so today. Over the years, however, there has been a deficit of knowledge and understanding of the whole firearms issue. Now that Ireland has moved forward and is doing a lot of amazing things in different fields, we have the opportunity to talk to An Garda Síochána and the Department to rectify some things. This meeting bodes well for the future but trying to get to the genesis of it would be difficult to do today. As the Chairman has said, this is a great starting point.