MINISTER FOR Justice Dermot Ahern is to clamp down on legally-held handguns after a High Court judge criticised the soaring number of registered weapons.
Proposals will be brought before the Cabinet in the autumn on tightening gun laws which were denounced as piecemeal last week by Mr Justice Peter Charleton.
Mr Ahern, speaking yesterday outside the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council of Ministers meeting in Cannes, France, said he had ordered an intensive review on how to change the laws governing gun ownership.
Mr Ahern, who spoke to Attorney General Paul Gallagher and Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy about new legislation, said he was grateful to the judge for highlighting the trend.
The Department of Justice said there were about 1,700 legally-held handguns in the Republic.
Mr Justice Charleton hit out at the level of registered handguns in Ireland as he blocked an attempt by a shooting enthusiast to overturn a Garda decision to refuse him a firearms certificate for a Glock 22 handgun. - (PA)