2 February 2006

Justice

Firearm Amnesty (Crime Stats 2005) 

Ciarán Cuffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if, in view of the crime statistics 2005, a firearm amnesty will be introduced in order to remove illegally held weapons from circulation here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. 

Minister For Justice, Equality and Law Reform:  I propose bringing forward a range of measures to strengthen the law governing the control of firearms in the Criminal Justice Bill, 2004, which is currently before the House.  These new measures include increases in fines and penalties generally for offences under the Firearms Acts and the creation of mandatory minimum sentences, between five and ten years, for certain firearms offences, including possession of a firearm in suspicious circumstance, possession of firearm with criminal intent, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life or cause serious injury to property, possession of a firearm while hijacking a vehicle, and use or production of a firearm to resist arrest. 

In this context I also propose to introduce a statutory basis for an amnesty during which firearms may be surrendered to the Garda Síochána before the proposed new penalties and minimum mandatory sentences are introduced.  This will enable those in possession of firearms, who are not in compliance with the legal requirements, to regularise their position, and this enable the Garda Síochána to concentrate on more serious offenders.