Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)

I wish to share time with Deputy Browne. I welcome this legislation before the House, which as the Minister noted, is both short and technical in nature. Moreover, just as Fianna Fáil did not oppose the Bill in the Seanad, we will not oppose it in this House. The Minister has outlined the rationale and reasoning behind the need for this Bill, which go back to the time when the system for issuing three-year firearm certificates was computerised. At the time, the stipulation for a facility to endorse the firearm certificate to permit wildlife hunting was omitted. Three years later, this issue has not been rectified and this Bill is only a temporary measure which merely kicks the problem down the road and delays it for a further three years. Has the Minister considered implementing a more comprehensive solution to the issue? As matters stand, not everyone who has a firearm is engaged in game shooting but on foot of this legislation, anyone with a firearm, be it a handgun or whatever, is permitted to use it for game shooting. The Minister has now been in office for more than 16 months and this is only the second legislative item he has brought before the House. I would have thought there might have been an opportunity during that time to bring forward more comprehensive legislation to solve this issue indefinitely in the future, rather than simply kicking the can and putting in place a temporary measure for a three-year period. He might outline if he has any plans to rectify the situation on a more permanent basis.

There was a high level of publicity surrounding the ban on stag hunting a few years ago. The parties now in Government were very cynical in opposition at the time in their approach to the issue. Deputies who were very much against blood sports came out against the ban and some Deputies made a promise to the people in the affected area that this ban would be rescinded once they come to power. I know that part of the country well as it where my partner is from, and it was one of the main issues in the area during the last general election. As it was a commitment made during the last general election campaign, I thought the Government parties might have used the opportunity arising from this Bill to rescind the ban on stag hunting, as previously promised. We are now getting conflicting reports on that. The Minister of State, Deputy McEntee - a man I greatly admire - has said that it is only a matter of time until it is rescinded, and then the Taoiseach said that was his own personal opinion. As the person with ultimate responsibility in this area, perhaps the Minister might indicate his own position and the Government's position on this issue. The people of Meath East have a great interest in it. The Government is in power for 16 months and it would be nice to see a more concrete decision on endorsing the firearms licences, rather than just kicking the can three years down the road.

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