A FLOOD of applications for the new three-year gun licence have been received at Garda stations across the State in the last month, following a Garda appeal for owners to renew their licences.
It is not yet known how many of the 25,000 firearms licence holders who had not moved to renew their certificates by the beginning of June, made yesterday’s deadline for application.
As and from midnight on Tuesday, those who had not applied for renewal of their licence were technically in possession of an unlicensed weapon, which could bring about a prosecution.
However, a Garda spokesman said he was hopeful the vast majority of those who had not applied by the beginning of June had now done so.
“Because there are so many applications now lodged and being processed, it will be some time before we know exactly what these numbers are,” he said. “We are continuing to encourage people in this position to go to their local Garda station where their application will be dealt with as quickly as possible.”
The force held a firearm awareness day in all stations on June 16th and made gardaí available to assist in the form-filling required.
When the awareness day was launched by the Garda earlier last month, Supt Fergus Healy of the Garda crime policy and administration unit said it was targeted at people living in rural areas who hold one shotgun.
“They are the main category of people who have not come forward to license their gun,” he said.
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. Unlike previous annual renewals, though, the paperwork for the new three-year licence was very extensive.
The legislation was brought in to deal with gun crime and 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.