Vol. 464 No. 2
104 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Justice the statistics available regarding the unauthorised use of firearms and other such dangerous weapons; the measures, if any, she is considering to address this issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7590/96]
The information sought by the Deputy is set out in the Garda Síochána Annual Report, a copy of which is available in the Oireachtas Library. The report also contains statistics of the seizure of all weapons by the Garda.
The Garda authorities have taken specific measures to deal with the matter raised by the Deputy. The Garda Quick Response Robbery Prevention Unit which was established in 1993 to act as a fast response to all types of robbery, has had a number of notable success and the trend in armed crime has been on the decrease since 1993. Also, specific Garda operations have adopted a targeted and focused approach to preventing the unauthorised use of firearms.
In addition, all applicants for firearm certificates receive advice regarding security of firearms, particularly in relation to the safe keeping of their weapons.
