Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, who sends her apologies, I thank Senator Paschal Mooney for raising the issue today. As he may be aware, in light of public safety concerns highlighted by An Garda Síochána and difficulties in the interpretation of the legislation expressed by members of the Judiciary, a joint working group of the Department of Justice and Equality and the Garda was established to review the firearms licensing process. I appreciate that states the obvious, but it is important to record it in the House. The report of the working group was published on 13 November and submissions on the report have been sought from stakeholders and the public. The deadline for the receipt of submissions is 31 January 2015. The consultation process provides individuals and groups with the opportunity to contribute to the development of firearms policy and legislation and will enable consideration to be given to the future direction of such legislation. The Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, has already given a commitment not to make any decision until she has had the opportunity to consider all the submissions which are made and met the key stakeholders, including the organisations who represent those who use firearms for sporting purposes. The Minister urges all concerned to engage with this process so that their views can be considered before final decisions are made in relation to this matter.

In so far as the issue of the Garda Commissioner's guidelines is concerned, I understand the Senator is referring to annex F of same on the practical application and operation of the Firearms Acts. The Garda Commissioner has made a decision with ministerial consent to issue new Garda guidelines on the Firearms Acts which exclude the former annex F. The interpretation of the previous annex F had caused difficulties and confusion in regard to applications for firearm certificates for .22 calibre handguns and has resulted in more than 30 judicial review applications to date. The Senator has made reference to this state of affairs. There have been no changes to either primary or secondary legislation as a result of amending the guidelines.

Deciding officers in An Garda Síochána have been formally notified this month that all applications for licences for non-restricted handguns shall be considered under the current legislation which is SI 21 of 2008, as amended by SI 337 of 2009. Interest groups, including representatives of the sports coalition, were notified earlier this month of both the new Garda guidelines without annex F and the current position that, in effect, a negative decision for a licence for .22 calibre handgun is a refusal of the application which allows for an appeal of that decision to the District Court.

To summarise a key point on behalf of the Minister, I note that no decision will be made on the matter until such time as she has had an opportunity to consider the submissions and has met the key stakeholders.