James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising her specific questions, which is why the firearms expert committee was established and what was the wide range of matters related to firearms about which the Minister formed the committee to advise on. The firearms expert committee was established to serve in an advisory capacity in respect of various firearms matters and I would like to thank the committee for its work. The firearms expert committee, FEC, was established following a request for expressions of interest from suitably qualified candidates that was published on 31 March 2022. This call was published on the Department of Justice’s website and shared among stakeholder organisations. The call for expressions of interest was administered by officials from the criminal justice policy function of the Department of Justice, which also acts as the secretariat to the committee.Appointments to the committee were made entirely in line with the process advised in the published expressions of interest document.

The FEC was made up of five members, namely, an independent chairperson, a representative of An Garda Síochána, a representative of the Department of Justice and two non-governmental ordinary members having experience of firearms. This structure was chosen to give balanced representation to both governmental and non-governmental stakeholders.

In answer to the Deputy’s question as to the matters that the committee was asked to examine, the FEC’s terms of reference remain publicly available on gov.ie. They are comprehensive and include the following: to carry out an assessment of all types of firearms which are currently licensed in the State to determine their use under the existing licensing system; to make recommendations based on the assessment of which types of firearms should be licensable in the State and for what purposes; to consider whether firearms certificates should be conditioned to specify the locations where the firearms may be used; to consider whether firearms certificates should be conditioned to limit the use of the firearm to the purpose for which the firearms certificate was sought; and to consider whether there should be a limit on the number and type of firearms a person may hold.

I assume that the Deputy has read the reports of the committee. She will be aware that they represent a comprehensive examination of the matters set out and that among the 80 or so recommendations made are various measures to improve the licensing process. The final meeting of the FEC took place on 3 March 2023. I have received its final reports, which I published on Friday, 31 March 2023 on gov.ie. In addition to publishing the final reports, I also published the minutes and a summary of each in-person meeting. For the avoidance of any doubt let me reiterate that the purpose of the FEC was to serve in an advisory capacity to me as a Minister in respect of his terms of reference and to make recommendations on a range of firearms matters for subsequent consideration. As I have emphasised before the FEC was established and throughout this process, any proposed changes to policy or legislation arising from any recommendations by the FEC will be subject to prior and extensive consultation with firearms stakeholders. To that end, an online consultation platform was developed and on 3 May 2023, I launched the FEC consultation online on gov.ie which concluded on 2 June 2023. In addition, I also have sought written submissions on the recommendations of the FEC from a range of stakeholders' organisations including the Firearms Users Representative Group, FURG, the Irish Farmers Association, IFA, the National Association of Regional Game Councils, NARGC, and others. There was no restriction put on those submissions. Now that the wider public consultation has concluded and having received the written submissions, I intend to meet such groups. Meetings are scheduled for later this week. I will meet FURGtomorrow and the IFA. I look forward to having further engagements with other stakeholders as well.

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