Chris Andrews (Dublin South East, Fianna Fail)

I am delighted to speak on this Bill. The vast majority of Irish people are decent and law-abiding and are entitled to live without fear of being the target of criminal activity in any form. As legislators, it is up to us to do everything we can in the fight against crime. We have all been shocked by the increasing brutality of crime and the way criminal gangs carry out business. Individuals carry out crimes without a second thought.

Last week in Dublin South-East a young mother, Esther Uzell, whose brother Joseph Rafferty was killed a number of years ago, declared that she would run as an Independent candidate in the local authority elections. Only three nights ago, her car was smashed to bits at 1.30 a.m. by five hooded people. They destroyed her car, shouted abuse at her apartment and called for her and her husband to come out. This was an act of serious intimidation by thugs, for whom scum is the more accurate description. They have been intimidating this family over the years and this is unacceptable. The Garda Síochána has put in a substantial number of man hours in trying to identify the people who killed Joseph Rafferty. These people can do what they want without feeling they could be apprehended. Having met the Garda Síochána about this and other matters, I have no doubt their time will come and they will be caught. The Garda Síochána is unrelenting in pursuit of these individuals, to the credit of the force.

The increase in the use of firearms and in knife crime has been well documented. Reports suggest that gardaí are seizing an average of 500 firearms a year. I welcome the provisions in this Bill. As legislators we must give the Garda Síochána the necessary powers and this Bill is one part of the jigsaw to make society safer. The 500 firearms seized every year is a considerable figure and makes a positive impact on reducing crime. I welcome the provisions in this Bill that set out to tackle the issue, particularly the handgun ban and the application of much tougher penalties for individuals found in possession of knives. Knives are particularly nasty weapons and it is important to deal with this area.

As the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform outlined, handguns were effectively banned in the State until 2004. However, due to a number of judicial decisions, that is no longer the case. Some 1,800 handguns have been licensed, an alarming figure. I fully support the actions in this Bill to ban the ownership of handguns.

These proposals have received the backing of the Chief Inspector of the Garda Inspectorate, Ms Kathleen O'Toole, who is drawing on her considerable experience in the United States. We must ensure we do not end up with a culture similar to the United States, where almost anyone can purchase a firearm with little or no restriction. The devastation the unregulated selling of guns causes in American society was most recently reinforced by the rise in school shootings. The Virginia Tech massacre and the shooting in Germany, which resulted in 16 deaths, is an indication of the road we could travel. We must ensure that we do not travel down this road and this legislation assists us in this regard.

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