Vol. 482 No. 3
317 Mr. Perry asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to the fact that items such as smoke bombs can be sold in novelty shops and when they are apprehended by the Garda they are classified as devices; the steps, if any, he has to prevent these items from being sold; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18056/97]
Under the Explosives Act, 1875 a licence is required to be issued by my Department for the importation of fireworks. It is a long-standing policy that such licences are only issued for organised fireworks displays conducted by competent, professional operators.
Despite this restriction, fireworks are imported illegally into the State, particularly in the Hallowe'en period. Much of what comes in is of dubious quality. The Garda authorities are aware of the problems that can arise at this time of year, and a number of measures are taken to counteract the problem. These include: the allocation of additional resources to deal with the fireworks problem; attention to known trouble areas; liaison with other services; alerting the public to the dangers surrounding the improper use of fireworks.
As a result, the Garda in recent years have been successful in confiscating substantial amounts of illegally imported fireworks. Prior to Hallowe'en this year, the Garda with the assistance of the customs and excise personnel, made considerable seizures of these fireworks, including one in north Dublin with an estimated street value in excess of £500,000.
I have been assured by the Garda authorities that they will continue to take appropriate action in relation to illegal fireworks including so called "smoke bombs" which may constitute fireworks.
