THE REPUBLIC faces gun ownership rates as high as the United States unless decisive action is taken to curb the "alarming" number of legally held handguns in circulation, Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern has said.
The present gun ownership regime posed a public safety risk and would be unjustifiable if Ireland experienced a "Dunblane- type incident" or if stolen weapons were used to kill innocent people.
Outlining a programme of "radical" legislative reform on the granting of handgun licences, Mr Ahern said there would be a ban on new licences being issued. Existing licensees would face "radically tightened" controls before licences were reissued, he said.
"Today we have 1,800 legal handguns [and] in three years' time that number could exceed 4,000 and rising," Mr Ahern said.
"This is completely unacceptable. While I know the vast majority of licensed gun owners behave responsibly, my paramount concern must be the protection of the public, particularly against the background of the level of gun crime which is taking place." While there would be a ban on the granting of new handgun licences, "very limited" exceptions would be made for Olympic sports.
All of the proposed changes will be included in the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous) Provisions Bill. The legislation was being drafted and would be brought forward as a matter of urgency.
The new Bill will provide for the revocation of any handgun licence issued between now and the enactment of the legislation in order to avoid a rush on licence applications in the months ahead.
Mr Ahern said that since his appointment to the justice portfolio, he had made clear his concerns at the number and type of handgun licences being issued.
From the early 1970s, and in light of the Troubles, handguns had been banned. However, from 2004 a number of judicial decisions effectively removed the ban, leading to a situation where 1,800 licences were now on issue. "I am mindful of comments made by Mr Justice Charleton in his judgment in a recent firearms case that a reasonable person is entitled to feel alarmed at the proliferation of handguns," Mr Ahern said.
While handguns are growing in popularity among organised crime gangs, legally held weapons have not been used in the commission of crime. However, serious concern has been expressed about allowing handgun ownership to increase unchecked at a time when gun crime is rising.
John Deasy TD (FG), who has raised the matter in the Dáil, said the US had seen the damage that can be done by high legal gun ownership rates. Figures obtained by Mr Deasy reveal major inconsistencies in the way gardaí interpret handgun laws. Some Garda districts have granted no licences, while others in more sparsely populated areas have been more liberal, issuing 100 licences a year.
Mr Ahern said he believed the new measures would not impact on most gun owners, who do not own handguns.
According to Department of Justice figures, just over 233,000 firearms are licensed in the State. Just over 177,000 are for shotguns with rifles accounting for 54,000.