Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 168: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the action he will take to prevent further serious crime including homicide by those on bail; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7878/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The law takes a serious view of offences committed by persons on bail. The commission of any offence while on bail carries the prospect of a harsher sentence than might otherwise be imposed had the offence not been committed while the offender was on bail. Section 11 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 provides that any sentence of imprisonment passed on a person for an offence committed while he or she was on bail shall be consecutive on any sentence passed on him for a previous offence. It further provides, following the Bail Act 1997, that where the consecutive provisions apply and the court is determining the appropriate sentence to impose for an offence committed while on bail, the fact that the offence was committed while on bail must be treated as an aggravating factor. Accordingly, the court must impose a sentence that is greater than that which it would have imposed in the absence of such an aggravating factor. The only exceptions are where the sentence for the previous offence is life imprisonment or where the court considers that there are exceptional circumstances to justify not doing so.

My Department keeps the operation of the provisions relating to offences committed by persons while on bail under review and whether any changes are required. An Garda Síochána monitors the adherence of bailed persons to their bail conditions and does not hesitate to apply to the courts to revoke bail if the conditions are being breached.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 169: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the extent of criminal threat arising from legally held or illegally held hand guns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7879/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I am informed by the Garda authorities that approximately 1,800 handguns have been licensed since the beginning of 2004 and that 31 have been stolen in that period. I am further informed that stolen firearms are used in the course of the commission of other criminal offences but, because not all stolen firearms or firearms used in the commission of offences are recovered, it is not possible to say precisely how many formerly legally held handguns have been used in criminal offences.

Since my appointment as Minister I have expressed concern at the number of handguns which have been licensed here in recent years. One of my concerns is that legally held firearms may be stolen and used in the commission of criminal offences. Following an intensive review of firearms legislation by my Department and An Garda Síochána, I have brought forward proposals which include no new licenses being issued for handguns, subject to limited exceptions in relation to Olympic sports. Existing licenses will not be renewed unless applicants fully meet the requirements of a radically tightened licensing procedure where the safety of the community will be paramount. Together with the Garda Commissioner I will keep under annual review the outcome of the licensing procedure and, if the outcome leaves a situation which still poses an unacceptable risk to the community, I will use new powers to ban particular types of firearm.

While a de facto ban on new handgun licences is already in place, my proposals will be given legislative form in the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, which will be published shortly. There are already very severe penalties for firearms offences in place under the Criminal Justice Act 2006. For example, possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life and using a firearm to resist arrest or aid escape carry a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years. Possessing a firearm while hijacking a vehicle, possessing a firearm or ammunition in suspicious circumstances, carrying a firearm with criminal intent and altering a firearm carry a mandatory minimum sentence of five years.

One of the main priorities I have set for An Garda Síochána in 2009 is to target gun crime through a range of measures, including the use of the Garda specialist units and targeted operations such as Operation Anvil. Operation Anvil commenced in the Dublin Metropolitan Region in 2005 to deal with serious crime and was extended nationwide in 2006. The primary focus of the Operation is the targeting of active criminals and their associates involved in serious crime by preventing and disrupting their criminal activity through extensive additional overt patrolling and static checkpoints by uniform, mobile and foot patrols, supported by armed plain clothes patrols. Under Operation Anvil up to the 8 February, 2009, 1,239 firearms have been recovered in Dublin and 1,092 in the rest of the country.