John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

It is not scraping the barrel. The central point here is the co-ordination of the eye and arm movement. There is a world of difference between people running at a moving target with a very high calibre handgun versus standing still. The issue is one of safety. It brings me back to the points raised by Senator Mullen. Do we want people running with high calibre loaded guns, running against the clock in an obstacle laden course? Certainly the Minister does not want it, nor does the Garda, as it has made clear.

I wish to come back to what I regard as the basic point. Senator Alex White has put it up to the Minister to ascertain on what he is relying. I will read into the record a letter from the director of the National Association of Regional Game Councils, which I believe we all agree is a respectable association that is involved in sport. I only received this letter on 25 June. The director, in referring to a meeting of mainstream shooting associations which occurred on 11 December last, wrote:

I wish to confirm that the associations in attendance unanimously decided that practical pistol shooting was the cause of serious damage to the reputation of traditional shooting as practised by Irish shooters heretofore and was given an undeserved bad impression of competitive pistol shooting generally. The associations present also unanimously determined that with immediate effect none of them could approve of, or support practical pistol shooting.

To my mind that clears the issue that one of the Senators raised as to whether the association was going along with the ban or simply condoning the Minister's position. The association was definite in its view. The director also wrote: "That was the position then and to my certain knowledge that remains the position today as none of the associations in attendance at that meeting have given any indication that they have changed their position on the matter." The director went on to state:

Even today, I have received emails from both the NTSA and the NASRPC, both of which reiterate their previous stated opposition to practical pistol shooting. As for making formal public statements at this stage, it is my belief that doing so would only feed this debate further. However I am concerned to hear that the impression has been given to some politicians that practical pistol shooting enjoys support from some of the associations which met in Leixlip last December.

He was writing on behalf of people I consider to be, as I am sure do the Senators, respected sports enthusiasts involved in this area of sport and he reiterated that the association fully supports the Minister's position. I do not believe for a second that this legislation is being rushed through.

I am in the company of four lawyers but I am not a lawyer so I am not into debating in that respect, nor am I into debating Shakespeare. My position remains that indicated by the Minister and therefore I cannot accept the amendments. I did not study much Shakespeare, but from having Macbeth drummed into me in school, one quote I remember was to the effect that if it was to be done, let it be done quickly.