The High Court has reserved judgment on a challenge by a firearms dealer to the refusal of the Minister for Justice to grant him an "occasional import licence" for a .470 calibre rifle which he had purchased in the UK.
The Minister's counsel described the rifle as a "lethal and objectionable" weapon which is used to shoot elephants.
The refusal of the licence to Mr Neil McVeigh, a registered firearms dealer, of Stradbrook Road, Co Dublin, restricted him from becoming an agent for certain firearms, Mr Gerard Hogan SC, for Mr McVeigh, said yesterday.
Mr McVeigh applied for the licence in October 2002 but it was refused.
The Minister said the refusal was on grounds of a current policy to grant firearms certificates only for specified weapons.
The Minister later stated that firearms certificates and import licences could be granted only in relation to those firearms which came within the policy - shotguns, crossbows, unrifled airguns and rifles up to .22, except in the cases of deer hunting and competition target shooting when bolt action rifles up to .270 are authorised.
Yesterday, Mr Hogan argued that the refusal to grant a licence on the basis of a stated current policy was in excess of the provisions of the Firearms Act 1925 in that it failed to have regard to the fact that, as a firearms dealer, Mr McVeigh was not required to possess a firearms certificate under the Act.
He claimed that the refusal of an import licence amounted to an amendment of the Firearms Act and usurped the discretion of a Garda superintendent to grant a licence.
In an affidavit, Mr McVeigh said he could not sell a firearm to any person unless they produced a firearms certificate for that weapon or could prove they were exempted from holding such a certificate. He believed there was no statutory provision proscribing the granting of a certificate for a .470 calibre weapon.
The judge said it appeared there was no specific reason for Mr McVeigh wanting this particular calibre of gun. Mr Hogan said that was not the issue. The licence refusal prevented Mr McVeigh from trading within the State and restricted him from becoming an agent for certain firearms.
Mr James Devlin, for the Minister for Justice, said it was very clear that the Minister had discretion whether to allow the import of firearms. The Minister must decide the issue and that was exactly what had happened in this case. Mr Devlin said the rifle in question was a lethal weapon. The weapon was objectionable and Mr McVeigh had not explained why that view was wrong. This was a rifle which was used to shoot elephants.