Mr. Fergus Healy:

The conventional shotguns with which we are all familiar, namely, the under-and-over, side-by-side, single and double-barrelled shotguns, are used for legitimate purposes such as game and other types of shooting. As we stated in our submission, that is fully acceptable weaponry to be licensed in the State and, accordingly, we do not have an issue with that.

I enclosed a photograph of one weapon in the submission which is a shotgun but has the significant capacity to quickly discharge many rounds, itself a concern. The number of shots that can discharged in a short period with a weapon of that capability can cause serious harm. Our concerns over shotguns relate to that type of weapon, not the double-barrelled shotgun used by a farmer or a gun club member for recreational purposes. The majority of the 200,000 weapons licensed cover the latter type of guns, namely, .22 rifles or shotguns. As such it is a lucrative trade with a significant amount of investment made by people in their guns and they are very responsible with their management. There is an element, however, that is irresponsible with respect to the management of their guns and there are security issues concerning those weapons.