Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

The Minister is aware of my concern that licences should only be issued to those who are of sound mental health and of sufficient capacity to possess and operate a firearm responsibly and safely, and we are ad idem on that objective. I was concerned by the case in Kilkenny which raised doubts whether the person in question should continue to hold a firearms certificate and I searched for a way to minimise the possibility of a repetition of that kind of horror story. The Minister has approached the issue from a somewhat different direction, although I have no problem with the amendment he has tabled. On reading the Bill I wondered how the original definition of health professional crept into the Bill, allowing a certificate to be obtained from a dentist, an optician or a chemist.

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