Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

My amendment No. 93 proposes to replace the words "one month" in subsection (8) of section 30 with "three months". I have tabled this amendment at the behest of the shooting fraternity whose members point to an anomaly in this regard. I am interested in the Minister's view on this. A certificate holder cannot currently apply for renewal of his or her firearm certificate until one month before its expiry. However, the Garda then has three months to make a decision on that application. This means one could be stranded for two months without a licence. My amendment is designed to synchronise the timing in this regard to eliminate this unacceptable time lag.

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