I propose to take Questions Nos. 1069 and 1087 together.
As previously advised in response to Parliamentary Question 483 on 6 December 2022, An Garda Síochána have informed my Department that it is not possible to collate the number of semi-automatic centre fire rifles for each of the years since 2015 to date. To do so would necessitate a manual trawl of PULSE which would take an inordinate expenditure of Garda resources and time.
However, my Department has been monitoring the importation of semi-automatic centre fire rifles into the State and between January 2015 and December 2021, the Department of Justice authorised the import of 97 SACF rifles; of these we have been informed that 38 have been issued licences. A breakdown of these figures is as follows:
The number of semi-automatic centre fire rifles imported - January
2015 – December 2021
|
Year
|
2015
|
2016
|
2017
|
2018
|
2019
|
2020
|
2021
|
Total FirearmsImported 2015-2021
|
|
Licensed
|
3
|
0
|
5
|
13
|
7
|
7
|
3
|
38
|
|
Unlicensed
|
3
|
2
|
11
|
10
|
5
|
6
|
22
|
59
|
|
Annual total
|
6
|
2
|
16
|
23
|
12
|
13
|
25
|
97
|
The legislative measure referred to by the Deputy is the proposed new section 3DA of the Firearms Act 1925 which was approved at Committee Stage in the Dáil on 08 November 2022, as a new section 10 of the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022.
The proposed new section provides that on the day that is three months after the relevant date, any firearm certificate for a semi-automatic centre-fire rifle that was first granted after 18 September 2015, and that was in force immediately before the relevant date, shall stand revoked. The “relevant date” is the date that the above section comes into operation.
This section is being proposed on public safety grounds, in line with a previous announcement by the then Minister on 18 September 2015. It is important to note that the intention to introduce this measure has been a matter of public record since that date. I share the concerns of An Garda Síochána in relation to public safety and equally, I also acknowledge the dedication and responsibility of the owners of legally held firearms in the State. In this regard, I note that this measure has been a long standing recommendation of An Garda Síochána, which was taken into account by the then Minister when she made her announcement on 18 September 2015.
Since the cap was first announced, the intention to revoke such certificates has been public. Steps were taken in the intervening period to raise awareness that any new certificates for these firearms stood to be revoked when the cap was introduced. Licensing Officers and applicants are directed, by the publicly available Commissioner’s Guidelines on the Practical Application and Operation of the Firearms Acts, to consider the upcoming restriction when submitting an application for one of these rifles to be licensed. Registered Firearms Dealers seeking to import these rifles have been advised by my Department that such rifles would become unlicensable when the new legislation is enacted.
The original decision to cap this particular type of firearm was made on public safety grounds, due to their use in international shootings that have resulted in significant loss of life and, in my view, that policy context has not changed. On that basis, the inclusion of this provision is being proposed in the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022 and the Dáil has recently confirmed its support for this approach.
This measure is a cap, as opposed to an outright ban. This is because persons who held a firearms certificate for these types of rifles before the date of the then Minister’s announcement on 18 September 2015, and whose certificate was in force immediately before the relevant date, will be able to continue to renew their certificates.
Persons who obtained firearms certificates in respect of semi-automatic centre fire rifles after 18 September 2015 will have their certificate revoked.
This is an appropriate and balanced measure given that it is forward looking from the then Minister’s public announcement in 2015 and not retrospective from before that date.
Finally, as is clear from the above, my Department has consistently communicated this policy over the last few years and as such the payment of compensation would not arise in these circumstances.
