John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)

I thank Deputy Neville for raising this matter. I am speaking on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, who regrets he is unable to be present due to other business.

Regarding the hunting licence issues the Deputy refers to, the Minister understands from his colleague, the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, that the relevant provisions of the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2010, which are due to lapse on 31 July 2012, will be continued with on an interim basis. The Act will be amended to give effect to this decision in due course, pending a major review of the Wildlife Acts which is promised under the National Biodiversity Plan 2011-2016.

The High Court case settlement the Deputy refers to involved judicial reviews of decisions by chief superintendents in firearms licensing cases where applications for licenses for high calibre handguns were refused. The case was settled with an undertaking to consider applications afresh and give reasons to applicants where applications are turned down.

Contrary to the picture the National Association of Regional Game Councils, NARGC, may try to paint, the Minister has asked me to highlight that the vast majority of licensed firearms holders have encountered no problems with the new licensing regime and, therefore, I disagree with the Deputy's assertion. In general terms, the House may recall that for more than 30 years prior to 2004 all handguns were effectively banned in this jurisdiction. Following a series of judicial decisions, however, almost 2,000 handguns were licensed between 2004 and 2008.

This situation did not come to pass as a result of a decision by the Oireachtas. The return of handguns also gave rise to new forms of target shooting which are a cause of concern to the Garda Commissioner. It is also worth noting that the use of handguns is illegal for hunting under the Wildlife Acts, nor are they licensed for personal protection in the State, and therefore there is a very limited potential use for them. The Minister is conscious of Mr. Justice Hedigan's remarks that "The licensing of powerful handguns and rifles is a matter of the gravest nature" and that "The strictest regulation of dangerous weaponry is essential if society is to be spared the menace of proliferating gun crime".

The reality is that An Garda Síochána are the people best placed to make decisions on firearms licensing and it would be helpful if the NARGC came to terms with that reality. It has to be said, frankly, that the intemperate material produced by that association undermines any requests they make for a spirit of co-operation in this area. On a point of clarification, the Minister would like to point out to the Deputy that the NARGC was but one of a number of shooting groups on the Firearms Consultative Panel and did not chair it, as he stated. It was chaired by a departmental official.

The Minister expects to receive a full report from the Garda Commissioner in the near future on the issues which arose in the High Court cases. The Commissioner has indicated that he shares the concern expressed by the judge but has indicated also that he is satisfied that the applications were decided upon in accordance with the decision maker's understanding of the relevant firearms legislation, that decisions were recorded in notifications to applicants, and that those decisions were informed by understandable concerns of public safety.

Tragically, the House will have been reminded in recent weeks of the dangers licensed firearms can pose for members of An Garda Síochána and others and of the dangers of firearms generally. For his part the Minister is determined to ensure that in the operation of the firearms licensing system, the question of public safety is paramount.

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