Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

It depends on the strength of the cartridge. Some people put more powder into their cartridges to adjust the velocity at which projectiles leave their guns. Even though the strength of the ammunition is, in general terms, one of the factors to be taken into account when determining whether a weapon has a certain muzzle velocity, it is possible to describe a weapon like an automatic rifle as a high-velocity weapon not simply by reference to the ammunition that is used in it but because of its general characteristics. Although I appreciate the point made by lobbyists to Deputy Howlin that in theory it all depends on the strength of the explosive used in the ammunition, that is not the full picture. The nature of the weapon is also a contributory factor. A short barrel of a certain kind will always be a low velocity weapon.

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