Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 November 2023
379. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice the number of fireworks seized by gardaí during the recent run Halloween period; and the number of persons arrested for possession of a firework without a valid licence. [50947/23]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, fireworks because they are explosives, are regulated under national and EU legislation and can only be imported into the country under licence and stored and sold in accordance with explosives law. Government policy restricts the availability of all hazardous fireworks to the general public. Licences under the Explosives Act are issued by this Department only for the importation of fireworks which are to be used in organised displays conducted by professional and competent operators.
Every year my Department runs a safety campaign aimed at ensuring the public is aware of the dangers of illegal fireworks and bonfires. This year's awareness campaign launched on 26 September, in collaboration with An Garda Síochána, the Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA), Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind and Dublin Fire Brigade.
Part 6 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 gives An Garda Síochána the power to make arrests in relation to the possession of unlicensed fireworks. While An Garda Síochána enforce the law all year round, in the run up to Halloween there is an additional focus on combatting the illegal importation, sale and use of fireworks, under what is known as Operation Tombola. Operation Tombola is a National Operation.
In response to the Deputy, An Garda Síochána have set out below incidents reported from 1 January to 18 November 2023 and advised that incidents included are of the type “Fireworks Offences” and objects of type “Explosives” linked to these incidents as “Seized”. Crime Counting rules are not applied.
|
Year Reported |
Fireworks Incidents |
Incidents Where Explosives Seized |
Number of Explosives Seized |
Value |
Incidents With Arrests |
|
2023 |
188 |
52 |
111 |
€44,608 |
12 |
An Garda Síochána have also advised that long-term annual statistics for detected Fireworks Offences are available from the CSO here: data.cso.ie/table/CJA01 and quarterly statistics to Q2 2023 are available here: data.cso.ie/table/CJQ01.
