Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 10, between lines 11 and 12, to insert the following: “(5A) Commencement of section 3DA shall not begin until after the completion of all stages of section 26B (as amended).”.

There are a lot of amendments to portions of legislation because this is a miscellaneous provisions Bill. While much of the focus has been around stalking, which of course is something we have to deal with appropriately, the amendments I have here relate to the small part that deals with the firearms expert committee and the recommendations that have come from that.

Last June, the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, set up the firearms expert committee which has been meeting since then and has done some work. However, its work is not nearly complete and it has a lot of work still to do. It has not come up with the report we expected from it. We have been contacted by various organisations, as other Deputies will have been, which engage in country pursuits. Some are games councils etc. across the country. These are licensed firearm holders. There are also people who engage in competitive marksmanship, which is a sport. They also have concerns around this. It would be appropriate for the Minister to accept the amendments to ensure there is enough time and space left to consult all these organisations properly which represent a large body of people who hold licensed firearms. Thankfully, we do not have a problem in this country with licensed firearms, unlike many other jurisdictions around the world where there are huge problems. We certainly do not have that problem. We have problems in other parts of it but not in that area. It would be appropriate if the Minister would accept these two amendments so we would wait until the proper report comes forward from the firearms expert committee and then have proper consultation on that report with all the stakeholders involved.

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