Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 2:

In page 8, to delete lines 4 to 19, and substitute the following:

“PART 3

AMENDMENT OF EXPLOSIVES ACT 1875 AND FIREARMS ACT 1925

Definition (Part 3)

7.In this Part, “Act of 1925” means the Firearms Act 1925.

Amendment of section 5 of Explosives Act 1875

8.Section 5 of the Explosives Act 1875 is amended— (a) in the second subsection (2.), by the substitution of “conveyance of gunpowder; or” for “conveyance of gunpowder.”, and

(b) by the insertion of the following subsection after the second subsection (2.) referred to in paragraph (a):

“(3.) To the keeping of gunpowder by a person for the purpose of lawfully selling it directly to the public—

(a) where the total amount of gunpowder on the premises does not exceed 5kg,

(b) where the gunpowder is, or is part of—

(i) a Category F1 firework, namely a firework that presents a very low hazard and negligible noise level and that is intended for use in confined areas and includes fireworks that are intended for use inside domestic buildings,

(ii) a Category P1 pyrotechnic article, namely a pyrotechnic article, other than fireworks and theatrical pyrotechnic articles, that presents a low hazard, or

(iii) an article classified as UN No. 0014, namely blank cartridges for weapons, blank cartridges for small arms or blank cartridges for tools, to which the United Nations Serial Number UN No. 0014 was assigned in the manual published by the United Nations and entitled ‘Twenty-second revised edition of the Recommendations by the United Nations Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods’ or in any later revised edition of those Recommendations for the time being in force,

and

(c) where the gunpowder referred to in paragraph (b) is kept—

(i) in an area designated by the person—

(I) to which unauthorised access is prevented, and

(II) that is located well away from sources of ignition, sparks and flammable materials,

and

(ii) in a manner that does not compromise emergency escape routes.”.

Amendment of section 2 of Act of 1925

9.Section 2(3) of the Act of 1925 is amended— (a) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “or by a member of the civilian staff of the Garda Síochána, in the performance of” for “in the performance of”, and

(b) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (b):

“(ba) the possession, use, or carriage of a firearm or ammunition by an officer of the Minister assigned to perform functions in Forensic Science Ireland, in the course of the performance by him or her of such functions;”.

Insertion of section 3DA into Act of 1925

10.The Act of 1925 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 3D: “Restrictions on firearm certificates for semi-automatic centre-fire rifles

3DA.(1) On and after the date of the coming into operation of section 10of the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022(in this section referred to as the ‘relevant date’), a firearm certificate shall not be granted under this Act, or under section 2 of the Act of 2000 in respect of an application under paragraph (a) or (aa) of subsection 2 of that section, for a semi-automatic centre-fire rifle.

(2) On the day that is 3 months after the relevant date, any firearm certificate for a semi-automatic centre-fire rifle that was first granted after 18 September 2015 and that was in force immediately before the relevant date shall stand revoked.

(3) This section shall not affect the possibility of renewal of a firearm certificate for a semi-automatic centre-fire rifle under section 3 of this Act, or under section 9 of the Act of 1964, where the firearm certificate was first granted on or before 18 September 2015 and was in force on the relevant date.

(4) On or after the relevant date, the Minister or the Commissioner shall not, under section 11(1) of the Act of 1964, substitute for the description of a firearm in a firearm certificate granted by him or her the description of a semi-automatic centre-fire rifle.

(5) Sections 5(3) and 6 shall, on and after the day referred to in subsection (2) of this section, apply in relation to a semi-automatic centre-fire rifle in relation to which the relevant firearm certificate has been revoked pursuant to this section.

(6) In this section—

‘Act of 1964’ means the Firearms Act 1964;

‘Act of 2000’ means the Firearms (Firearm Certificates For Non-Residents) Act 2000;

‘first granted’ means, in relation to a particular semi-automatic centre-fire rifle—

(a) the grant (not renewal) of a firearm certificate for the semiautomatic centre-fire rifle under section 3 of this Act, or under section 2 of the Act of 2000 in respect of an application under paragraph (a) or (aa) of subsection (2) of that section, or

(b) the substitution by the Minister or the Commissioner, under section 11(1) of the Act of 1964, for the description of a firearm in a firearm certificate granted by him or her the description of the semi-automatic centre-fire rifle,

whichever is the earlier;

‘semi-automatic centre-fire rifle’ means a rifled long firearm that—

(a) uses a cartridge with a centrally located primer in the base,

(b) can self-load a round after each time a round is discharged, and

(c) cannot fire more than one round with a single pull on the trigger.”.

Amendment of section 4A of Act of 1925

11.Section 4A of the Act of 1925 is amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (20): “(20A) This section shall not apply to a shooting range owned or operated by the Garda Síochána.”. Insertion of new section 4AA into Act of 1925

12.The Act of 1925 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 4A: “Minimum standards for Garda shooting ranges

4AA.(1) The Minister, after consultation with the Commissioner, may prescribe minimum standards to be complied with by a shooting range owned or operated by the Garda Síochána.

(2) The minimum standards referred to in subsection (1) shall be determined by reference to any or all of the following matters:

(i) the security of the range;

(ii) the management of the range;

(iii) the design, construction and maintenance of the range;

(iv) the types of firearms and ammunition to be used at the range;

(v) the types of shooting practices to be conducted at the range;

(vi) the level of competence of persons using the range.”.

Amendment of section 4B of Act of 1925

13.Section 4B(2)(b) of the Act of 1925 is amended by the substitution of “section 4A(13) or section 4AA(1)” for “section 4A(13)”.

Amendment of section 4C of Act of 1925

14.Section 4C of the Act of 1925 is amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2): “(2A) Subsection (1) shall not apply to the facilitation or engagement in the use of a firearm by a member of the Garda Síochána in the performance of his or her duties as such member.”. Insertion of new section 14A into Act of 1925

15.The Act of 1925 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 14: “Offences regarding alteration of marking of firearms

14A.(1) A person who, unless—

(a) permitted by the Firearms Acts 1925 to 2022, or

(b) otherwise in accordance with law,

intentionally falsifies, removes, or otherwise obliterates or alters the marking of a firearm shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—

(a) if the firearm referred to in subsection (1) is a restricted firearm—

(i) on summary conviction, to a class A fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both, or

(ii) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years or to both,

or

(b) in any other case—

(i) on summary conviction, to a class C fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both, or

(ii) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both.

(3) In this section—

‘Act of 1968’ means the Firearms (Proofing) Act 1968;

‘marking of a firearm’ means—

(a) a mark to which section 4(1)(a) of the Act of 1968 refers,

(b) a mark to which section 4(1)(b) of the Act of 1968 refers,

(c) a mark to which section 3(12) refers,

(d) a mark provided for by regulations made in accordance with section 26A(c),

(e) a mark to which Article 5 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2403 of 15 December 2015 establishing common guidelines on deactivation standards and techniques for ensuring that deactivated firearms are rendered irreversibly inoperable, as amended by Article 1(3) of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/337 of 5 March 2018 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2403 establishing common guidelines on deactivation standards and techniques for ensuring that deactivated firearms are rendered irreversibly inoperable, refers,

(f) a mark to which Regulation 5 of the Principal Regulations refers,

(g) a mark to which Regulation 6 of the Principal Regulations refers, or

(h) a mark to which Regulation 7 of the Principal Regulations refers;

‘Principal Regulations’ means the European Union (Acquisition and Possession of Weapons and Ammunition) Regulations 2022 (S.I. No. 209 of 2022).”.

Amendment of section 23 of Act of 1925

16.Section 23(1) of the Act of 1925 is amended by the substitution of “may, in accordance where applicable with regulations made under section 26A, make” for “may make”.

Amendment of section 24 of Act of 1925

17.Section 24 of the Act of 1925 is amended— (a) by the substitution of the following subsections for subsection (1):

“(1) If a judge of the District Court is satisfied by information on oath of a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of sergeant that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that evidence of, or relating to, the commission of an offence under this Act is to be found in any place, the judge may issue a warrant for the search of that place and any persons found at that place.

(1A) Subject to subsections (1B) and (1C), if a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of superintendent is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that evidence of, or relating to, the commission of an offence under this Act is to be found in any place, the member may issue to a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of sergeant a warrant for the search of that place and any persons found at that place.

(1B) A member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of superintendent shall not issue a search warrant under this section unless he or she is satisfied—

(a) that the search warrant is necessary for the proper investigation of an offence under this Act, and

(b) that circumstances of urgency giving rise to the need for the immediate issue of the search warrant would render it impracticable to apply to a judge of the District Court under this section for the issue of the warrant.

(1C) A member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of superintendent may issue a search warrant under this section only if he or she is independent of the investigation of the offence in relation to which the search warrant is being sought.”,

(b) in subsection (2)—

(i) by the substitution of the words “search warrant” for “search order”, wherever they occur, and

(ii) by the substitution of “within, if the warrant is issued by a judge of the District Court, one week, and if the warrant is issued by a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of superintendent, 48 hours,” for “within 48 hours”,

(c) in subsection (3)—

(i) by the substitution of “search warrant” for “search order”, and

(ii) by the substitution of “search warrant” for “order”,

and

(d) by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (3):

“(4) The power to issue a search warrant under this section is without prejudice to any other power conferred by statute to issue a warrant for the search of any place or person.

(5) A member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of superintendent who issues a search warrant under this section shall, either at the time the warrant is issued or as soon as reasonably practicable thereafter, record in writing the grounds on which the warrant was issued, including how he or she was satisfied as to the matters referred to in subsection (1B).

(6) In this section—

‘independent of’, in relation to the investigation of an offence, means not being in charge of, or involved in, that investigation;

‘place’ includes—

(a) a dwelling or a part thereof,

(b) a building or a part thereof,

(c) a vehicle, whether mechanically propelled or not,

(d) a vessel, whether sea-going or not,

(e) an aircraft, whether capable of operation or not, and

(f) a hovercraft.”.

Insertion of new section 26A into Act of 1925

18.The Act of 1925 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 26: “Regulations regarding disposal of certain firearms

26A.Without prejudice to the operation of any other section of this Act, the Minister may, following consultation with the Commissioner, make regulations—

(a) to provide for the methods of destruction of such illicitly manufactured or trafficked firearms, parts, components and ammunition as he or she may prescribe,

(b) to provide for the methods of assignment for forensic, scientific, historical, or cultural purposes, of such illicitly manufactured or trafficked firearms, parts, components and ammunition as he or she may prescribe, and

(c) to provide for the marking of the firearms to which paragraph (b) relates and the recording of the methods of assignment of the firearms, parts, components and ammunition prescribed under that paragraph.”.”.