THE STATE’S gun laws are as stringent as they can be to prevent a mass shooting similar to the one in Cumbria this week, according to a senior garda.
Supt John Gilligan said at Garda headquarters in Dublin yesterday that there was as much “legislation as you can have” to deal with such an eventuality.
The Garda announced yesterday a national firearms licensing awareness day for June 16th in advance of a deadline for people holding firearms to switch over to a new licensing system on July 1st.
There will also be advertisements in local newspapers aimed at the farming community.
The legislation was brought in to deal with gun crime. It includes a ban on handguns, a requirement for referees, background medical checks and standards for the keeping of all guns, with tightened licensing procedures for the renewal of currently licensed guns.
It also provides for a comprehensive audit of all firearm owners to be conducted by each superintendent in every Garda district.
Though the original provisions of the new laws were aimed at gangland criminals, the awareness campaign is for law-abiding gun owners.
Supt Gilligan said the campaign to regularise licences under the provision of the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 was obviously decided before the actions of Derrick Bird, who killed himself and 11 people in a shooting spree in Cumbria on Wednesday afternoon.
He conceded the issue was now topical, although such an incident had never happened in Ireland.
“Even before this new legislation, local sergeants and superintendents have always had a role in deciding the suitability of anybody to hold a licence.
“People have had their firearms taken off them because they did something stupid by producing a shotgun at the gate to somebody. That happens on a regular basis anyway.”
Under the provisions of the Act, all gun owners must have a new three-year firearms certificate to replace the old one-year certificate. The new three-year licence costs €80 and the collection of fees has been outsourced to An Post.
Every new gun holder must also have a new firearm training certificate.
When the Government brought in the new Act last year, licensed gun holders were given a free extension of their existing licences to facilitate the change over from the old to the new.
The last batch of 25,000 licence holders will have to be renewed by June 30th. Those who fail to swap over may have their firearms seized and face prosecution.
Gardaí will be available on June 16th at Garda stations between 10am and 6pm to assist in filling out the application form to receive the new certificate.
“We’re trying to target people who live in a rural area who hold one shotgun,” said Supt Fergus Healy of the Garda crime policy and administration section. “They are the main category of people who have not come forward to licence their gun.
“We don’t want a situation where we find a lot of people in possession of firearms which have not been regularised or certified.”
He said applicants had to consent to allow a superintendent to make inquiries about their background if necessary. “Each case is judged on its own merits, but there is a provision in the legislation to allow for a superintendent to make whatever checks are necessary, and the person must show willingness to co-operate with the superintendent.”
Background checks into the man who carried out the Cumbrian shootings found that he had only a minor conviction and was not known to have any mental health problems.
