Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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577. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the rationale for the setting up of the Firearms Expert Committee, FEC; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15029/23]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The Firearms Expert Committee (FEC) was established to serve in an advisory capacity on firearms matters. Its terms of reference, which are publicly available, include to carry out an assessment of all types of firearms, to determine their current use under the existing licensing system and their suitability for future licensing.

I can advise the Deputy, the FEC was made up of five members: 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.

On 31 March, 2022, expressions of interest were sought from suitably qualified candidates for appointment to the Firearms Expert Committee. This call was published on the Department of Justice’s website and shared with various 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. Appointment to the Committee was conducted in line with the process advised in the expressions of interest document.

In total, 14 applications were received for the position of Chairperson and 34 for the positions of Ordinary Member. Given the number of well-qualified applicants, I requested that shortlists of candidates be prepared for final consideration. These shortlists were prepared by assessing applications against the suitability indicators listed in the expression of interest document. After careful consideration, I then selected the candidates for appointment from these shortlists.

Following the selection process for appointment to the Committee, Ms. Emma Meagher Neville was selected for the position of Chairperson. Ms. Meagher Neville qualified as a solicitor in 1998 and is currently the Vice President of the Southern Law Association (SLA) and a Council member of the Law Society of Ireland. Mr. Paul Walsh and Mr. Fabian Connolly, both Registered Firearms Dealers with extensive experience in different types of shooting, were selected for the positions of Ordinary Member. An Garda Síochána was represented on the Committee by Superintendent Emma Doyle (or her alternative, Inspector Paul Greene), who replaced the initial nominee Superintendent Brain Murphy in advance of the first meeting. Mr. John Guinane, the Firearms Range Inspector, was appointed to represent the Department.

I can advise the Deputy that the final meeting of the FEC took place on 3 March, 2023, and that the Committee has now finalised its reports. The reports will be submitted to me imminently and it is my intention to publish them shortly after this, along with the minutes of its meetings. As I have emphasised throughout the process, the role of the FEC was to make recommendations to me for subsequent consideration. Any subsequent changes to policy or legislation arising from any of the recommendations by the committee will of course be subject to prior consultation with the relevant stakeholders.