Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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613. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will consider amending the Firearms Acts 1925-2006 inclusive to increase the minimum mandatory sentence for persons found to be in illegal possession of a firearm, in order to put further pressure on organised crime gangs operating within the State; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33630/14]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I can firstly inform the Deputy that there are severe penalties in place for firearm offences under the Firearms Acts 1925 to 2009.

There are a range of penalties depending on the type of offence, as follows:

- A person without a valid certificate for an unrestricted firearm is liable on conviction on indictment to a fine up to €10,000 or up to 5 years imprisonment or both;

- A person without a valid certificate for arestrictedfirearmis liable on conviction on indictment to a fine up to €20,000 or up to 7 years imprisonment or both;

- To possess a firearm while taking a vehicle without lawful authority, to possess a firearm in suspicious circumstances, and to possess with intent to commit an offence, a person is liable to a minimum of 5 years imprisonment and up to 14 years imprisonment and a fine at the discretion of the Court;

- A person possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life and a person using a firearm to resist arrest is liable to a minimum of 10 years imprisonment up to a maximum of life imprisonment and a fine at the discretion of the Court.

In addition, the controls on the issue of firearms certificates, and the conditions under which weapons can be held, have been strengthened in order to ensure that legitimately held firearms remain as far from the reach of criminals as possible.

In September 2012, the then Minister for Justice and Equality announced the establishment of a working group to conduct a strategic review of penal policy. In line with a recommendation of the Thornton Hall Review Group which reported in 2012, the Working Group was asked to carry out an all encompassing strategic review of penal policy incorporating an examination and analysis of all aspects of penal policy including sentencing policies. The Working Group report is being published today.

I can also assure the Deputy that gun crime generally is being tackled aggressively by An Garda Síochána by means of a range of targeted and intelligence based operations, often disrupting and preventing incidents before harm is caused, as well as detecting and prosecuting those involved.

In particular, the 2014 Policing Plan of An Garda Síochána sets outs this continued commitment to confront groups and individuals engaged in criminal activity, including by employing multi-disciplinary approaches and utilising all available resources and legislation.Advanced analytical and intelligence methods are applied, and proactive high-visibility checkpoints, patrols and searches are deployed, coordinated with armed response capacity to ensure that such resources are focused on key locations and periods. In addition to these enforcement measures, An Garda Síochána also engages extensively with communities in a range of fora to address local concerns relating to crime and community safety, including the impact that organised crime can have at a community level.

An Garda Síochána also works closely with other law enforcement agencies to tackle the transnational dimension to organised crime, and there are substantial multi-agency operations in place to tackle organised crime.

Legislative provisions in this and other areas related to organised crime are kept under review and I remain in regular contact with the Garda Commissioner in relation to tackling organised crime.