Press Clippings

Sparks

From the Irish Times:

Minister plans to bring in handgun ban
MICHAEL O'REGAN

A BAN on handguns was signalled by Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern .

He said that the increasing prevalence of handguns had not come about as a result of any deliberate policy decision by the Government or the House.

"That situation is clearly unsatisfactory and I will be bringing forward effective proposals to deal comprehensively with it," he added.

"There is simply no excuse for the type of gangland activities which we have witnessed. Members of gangs bear complete responsibility for their deeds."

He said he had previously made clear his concern at the number and type of handguns being licensed and a review of the firearms laws was at its final stages.

"My bottom line is this: while I recognise that the vast majority of handgun owners are responsible people, as Minister my concern is the safety of the public, particularly at a time of concern about gun crime," said Mr Ahern.

"I will make a detailed statement in the near future on this matter." He asked if they wanted "as a country to go down the road of America, Finland and others, where there is a proliferation of handguns".

The Minister was speaking during a debate on a Fine Gael Private Members' motion calling for action on crime, following the recent murder of Shane Geoghegan in Limerick.

Mr Ahern said that from the early 1970s, in the light of the Northern troubles, all handguns were banned in the Republic until a few years ago.

Following a series of judicial decisions, that was no longer the case, although there was no public policy decision to lift the ban, he added.

Mr Ahern said that in the longer term, they risked condemning future generations if they did not face up to the deep-seated social problems which had beset parts of Limerick.

He said that work was ongoing on the Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence and Sampling) Bill providing for the establishment of a DNA database for criminal investigation purposes. He expected to be able to publish the Bill in the new year.

Proposals for a covert surveillance Bill had been approved by the Government earlier in the day, he added.

Fine Gael justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan said that criminal gangs would not prosper in the State if they did not have easy access to drugs.

"The Government likes to point the finger at Foxrock and abdicate its own responsibility in this regard," he added.

"However, the bottom line is Ireland is internally seen as a soft touch when it comes to the importation of drugs. With one Customs boat, one mobile X-ray scanner and a handful of sniffer dogs, this is no surprise."

Mr Flanagan said that while that gross oversight remained, criminal gangs would prosper, innocent victims would be murdered and the Government would have failed the Irish people.

Labour spokesman Pat Rabbitte said that senior Garda appointments should be taken out of the domain of party politics.

"This single decision would give more impetus to the dynamic for genuine change than any of the reforms to date which have met with such mixed success," he added.

© 2008 The Irish Times

Sparks

That link doesn't work Grizzly, I think you meant this story:

Cabinet agrees to blanket ban on licensing of handguns
CONOR LALLY MICHAEL O'REGAN and

THE CABINET has agreed to a blanket ban on the licensing of handguns. Criminal justice legislation already being drafted will be amended to include provisions that will ban the granting of handgun licences under any circumstances.

Gun owners who already have weapons will not have their licences renewed, forcing them to sell their guns or face criminal prosecution.

The Government's decision to ban the weapons comes after a period in which their use has grown exponentially in the Republic, reaching 1,900 licences at present. In 2004, the High Court overturned a 30-year-old "temporary custody order" banning the licences.

Figures obtained two weeks ago by John Deasy TD (FG) revealed major inconsistencies in the way gardaí across the State were interpreting laws around the granting of handgun licences.

Some Garda districts have granted no licences for handguns while others in more sparsely populated areas have been much more liberal, issuing between 50 and 100 licences a year.

Speaking last night during a Dáil debate on a Fine Gael private members' motion calling for action on crime, Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said he would bring forward legislation to deal with the handguns issue.

Informed sources said the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill would be amended to ban the guns.

The matter was discussed at Cabinet yesterday where Mr Ahern secured agreement for a ban.

In July, Mr Justice Peter Charleton said there was "a pressing need" for drawing together into a clear law the multiple "piecemeal" rules on the control of handguns here.

He said reasonable people were "entitled to feel alarmed" about a recent large increase in the number of pistols licensed for private use. He made his comments during a High Court case in which a man challenged the Garda's refusal to grant him a gun licence.

Mr Ahern said the increasing prevalence of handguns had not come about as a result of any deliberate policy decision by the Government.

He had previously made clear his concern at the number and type of handguns being licensed.

"My bottom line is this," Mr Ahern continued, "while I recognise that the vast majority of handgun owners are responsible people, as Minister my concern is the safety of the public, particularly at a time of concern about gun crime."

Last night's debate followed the murder last Sunday week of Shane Geoghegan in Limerick. He was killed when members of a gang in the city shot him close to his home in Dooradoyle after mistaking him for a rival criminal.

© 2008 The Irish Times

Sparks

RTE are now reporting this as a crackdown, not a ban. No mention of bans at all in there in fact.

Ahern vows crackdown on handguns
Wednesday, 19 November 2008 10:36

The Minister for Justice has signalled a crackdown on licensed handguns.

Dermot Ahern was responding in the Dáil last night to Opposition criticism of the Government's tackling of organised crime.

The murder of Shane Geoghegan in Limerick prompted the private members' debate, with Fine Gael calling for new measures to crackdown on crime gangs.

Fine Gael justice spokesperson Charlie Flanagan said that by failing to prosecute organised crime-linked murders, the Government is failing the victims, failing their families and failing society.

Party colleague Jimmy Deenihan warned that organised crime in Limerick was about to spread into surrounding areas like his own north Kerry constituency, where he said the Limerick gangs were already in control of the drugs trade.

In response, Mr Ahern promised new legislation, including the covert surveillance bill he announced earlier in the day, as well as multi-agency checkpoints including gardaí, customs, social welfare and environment to put relentless pressure on criminal gangs.

He added that there had been no legally held handguns until a number of judicial decisions in 2004, and that he would not tolerate a proliferation of such weapons.

chem

Minister Dermot Ahern Outlines Handguns Ban



The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr. Dermot Ahern, T.D.
today outlined his proposals to ban licensed handguns.

The Minister said the handgun ban would be included in legislation
currently being prepared which will be published shortly.

Minister Ahern said: “Since being appointed, I have made clear my growing
concern at the number and type of handguns being licensed.

“From the early 1970s, in the light of the Troubles, until 2004, all
handguns were banned in this jurisdiction. But following a series of
judicial decisions that is no longer the case and about 1800 handguns have
been licensed. There was no public policy decision to bring about this
situation.

“I am mindful of comments made by Mr. Justice Charleton in his judgement in
a recent firearms case that a reasonable person is entitled to feel alarmed
at the proliferation of handguns. My concern is that unless strong and
decisive action is taken the number of handguns could grow exponentially
and our firearms regime would equate to that of countries such as the
United States. Today we have 1800 legal handguns – in three years time that
number could exceed 4,000 and rising.

“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.”

Some time ago the Minister directed his Department and An Garda Síochána to
carry out an urgent and intensive review of the firearms law. Proposals
arising from that review will be reflected in a Criminal Justice
(Miscellaneous) Provisions Bill which is being prepared as a matter of
urgency and which the Minister will bring forward shortly.

His proposals for radical reform in this area include

· no new licences will be issued for handguns.
· existing licenses will not be renewed unless applications fully
meet the requirements of a radically tightened licensing procedure where
the safety of the community will be paramount
· the Minister will keep under annual review, in consultation with
the Garda Commissioner, the outcome of the licensing procedure and, if the
outcome of that procedure leaves a situation which still poses an
unacceptable risk to the community, will use new powers, which the Bill
will contain, to ban outright any type of firearm.


The Bill will provide for the revocation of any handgun licenses which may
be issued between now and the enactment of the legislation and it is
intended that anyone applying for a handgun license in that period will be
informed of that fact.

The Minister is prepared to make very limited exceptions in relation to
Olympic sports only.

The Minister considers that his proposals will not cause inconvenience to
the vast majority of gun owners, who have had no interest in acquiring hand
guns.

The Minister said "While I regret the need for these proposals, the reality
is that if we were subject to a Dunblane type incident or stolen legal
handguns were used to kill innocent civilians the present situation, which
has not arisen as the result of any policy decision, would be impossible to
justify."

19 November 2008

Sparks

The Evening Herald editorial would be laughable under other circumstances:

The ban on handguns makes sense
Wednesday November 19 2008

IT is quite extraordinary that the Cabinet has taken this long to crackdown on the licensing of handguns. While the majority of handgun owners may very well be responsible people, no one can ignore the explosion of gun crime and murder on city streets.

The increased growth of gun licences, in the four years since the High Court overturned a 30-year ruling banning them, is astonishing.

Almost 2,000 people currently have handguns for sporting purposes with a licence sanctioned by a local Garda Superintendent but the legislation is unclear and has been applied inconsistently.

Under the proposed new laws there will be no ambiguity. Those with licensed guns will have to get rid of them or face criminal prosecution.

This may discommode a few sporting enthusiasts but a ban would mean anyone caught with a handgun could offer no justification and would face the rigours of the law.

You wouldn't know where to begin with that one.

Sparks

The Irish Times is still off on it's own little end run:

Ahern outlines handgun ban proposals
KILIAN DOYLE

The Government has outlined its proposals for a ban on licensing handguns, which may be expanded to include all firearms in the future.

Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said the legislation, which will be published shortly as part of the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous) Provisions Bill, had been drawn up in response to increasing concern over the proliferation of firearms.

A "temporary custody order" on handguns, which was imposed in the early 1970s due to the Troubles, was overturned by the High Court in 2004. Since then, nearly 1,900 have been licensed in the State. It is expected that figure could exceed 4,000 within three years,.

“My concern is that unless strong and decisive action is taken the number of handguns could grow exponentially and our firearms regime would equate to that of countries such as the United States,” Mr Ahern said.

“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,” Mr Ahern added.

Under the proposals, no new licences will be issued for handguns and existing licenses will not be renewed unless applications fully meet the requirements of “a radically tightened licensing procedure where the safety of the community will be paramount”, the Minister said.

Any licence awarded between now and the enactment of the new legislation will be revoked.

Mr Ahern said the situation regarding handguns will be kept under review and could lead to an outright ban on all guns if firearms remain a threat to public safety.

The only exemptions will be for those using handguns for Olympic sports. Mr Ahern said the the majority of gun owners will not be inconvenienced as they have “no interest” in acquiring handguns.

Figures obtained two weeks ago by John Deasy TD (FG) revealed major inconsistencies in the way gardaí across the State were interpreting laws around the granting of handgun licences.

Some Garda districts have granted no licences for handguns while others, in more sparsely populated areas, have been much more liberal, issuing between 50 and 100 licences a year.

The total number of firearms licences issued, for all gun types, reached 233,934 in the 12-month period to July 31st last. This figure has grown steadily from 215,856 in 2004.

© 2008 irishtimes.com

Rew

kerryman12 wrote: »

This article was taken formt he examiner this morning.

I turned that 90 degrees left for you kerryman, see attached.

Sparks

From the Examiner:

Target shooters not to blame for ‘hate emails’

I REFER to your report headlined “TDs receive ‘hate emails’ after gun debate” (November 2).

As one of those who has sent emails to Fine Gael deputy John Deasy, I would be very concerned if abusive emails have been sent to him or to his party colleague Olivia Mitchell TD with whom I have also corresponded.

The responsible target shooting community in this country is not to blame for the emails complained of by Mr Deasy.

It should be noted also that he has not responded to any of the emails I have sent him, even though some of the points I made have been borne out by garda spokespersons in the Wexford division.

Mr Deasy has also been advised by his party leader to engage with the target shooting community in order to acquaint himself properly with the situation. To the best of my knowledge (and my unacknowledged emails are testament to this), he has not heeded that request. I have endeavoured at all times to bring reason and balance to this debate, but Mr Deasy appears to be unable or unwilling to enter into discussion on the subject.

I regret that he wishes to take this attitude, but would never stoop to insult or abuse in an effort to get my point across. Other members of his frontbench have adopted a different attitude, as has the secretariat of the Committee of Public Accounts who will be bringing my points to the attention of that committee.

Kealan Symes
Vice-Chairman
National Target Shooting Association

Sparks

From the Irish Times:

Ban on licensing handguns
Madam, - Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern's decision to introduce a ban on handguns will do nothing to combat gun crime. Its only purpose is to show that the Minister is "doing something" about the issue. Legal handgun owners are a soft target. The Minister should be doing more to stop the inflow of illegal firearms. - Yours, etc,

Madam, - We're lucky Dermot Ahern is such a sharp thinker. All those drug lords and gangland killers must be quaking in their boots, waiting for their gun licences to expire. Then they'll have to toddle along to their friendly neighbourhood Garda station and hand them in.

Gosh, he's really trumped them! I'm sure they'd never dare to try get their hands on a handgun without a Garda vetting and a licence. After all, that'd be against the law. And anyway, where on earth would a drug lord get the money to buy illegal guns? - Yours, etc,

Madam, - As in Chicago in the 1920s, there is a serious problem in Ireland today over the use of guns by gangsters. The root causes of the two cases are very similar: the prohibition of alcohol in 1920s America, and the prohibition of drugs in Ireland today. Since prohibition means that the distribution of the prohibited substance is left to criminals, the latter get rich, powerful and out of control.

Rather than addressing the root of the problem by removing prohibition, the Government's solution is to take guns away from law-abiding people, the consequence of which is that now only gangsters will have guns.

Is there some logic to this that I'm missing? - Yours, etc,

Sparks

Of course, not all good news. From the Irish Times:

Arms dealer loses appeal over handgun
PADDY CLANCY

A LICENSED arms dealer has been banned from owning a handgun legally held by hundreds of Irish marksmen but which has been described in court as an "extremely dangerous" weapon.

Judge Kevin Kilrane described dealer Gavin Murray (25) as "an upright and decent man" but turned down his appeal against a ban on owning a Heckler and Koch USP Custom Sport gun that fires 9mm-calibre parabellum ammunition.

The judge said at Donegal District Court: "It is an extremely dangerous weapon. Gangsters and criminals would give their right arm to have one of them."

He added: "It would be my hope that legislation would be introduced absolutely banning all hand-held side-arms of this nature from individuals."

Mr Murray, Drimark, Donegal town, appealed against a refusal by Supt John Dennedy to grant him a licence for the gun.

The judge's ruling on Wednesday came as Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said he will be introducing a new ban on handguns, although small-calibre sporting pistols will be excluded.

Supt Dennedy said he refused a licence under powers authorising him to exercise his discretion. He was concerned Mr Murray did not have good reason for owning the firearm. He agreed Mr Murray held certificates for other firearms but his concerns about this particular gun related to its compactness, ease of concealment and its potential danger to the public.

Mr Murray, who was recently ranked fourth in a national shooting contest, said he travelled the country, for competitions.

Judge Kilrane said: "There is plenty of hostile territory from here to Cork. A large number of people would be fully aware he has the firearm and is transporting it. The risk of him being robbed of it is very, very high given the present state of the country and the times in which we live, with robberies, with violence and, worse, death on the streets."

Sparks

Thanks for the heads-up marlin. Nice of them to print my home address in such fine detail I thought.

Waterford Today:

Letters - Firearms scaremongering?

Dear Editor,

In recent weeks, Deputies Deasy and Mitchell and others have engaged in scaremongering on a widespread scale in the media (including this newspaper), saying that there has been a massive rise in the licencing of pistols, and attempting to link this alleged rise to the recent rise in levels of gun crime. As a licenced firearms owner, I wish to offer the following counterpoints:

(*) The number of pistols licenced in Ireland per capita has fallen by 20% since 1971.

(*) Since 1971, our firearms laws have been tightened three times, making ours the most restrictive laws in the EU.

(*) Every single licenced firearm in Ireland is licenced to someone who was personally approved as safe to own and use that firearm by a Garda Superintendent.

(*) Garda Superintendents have exceptionally wide-ranging powers when it comes to granting or refusing licences. They can - and do - require gun safes, home inspections, house alarms, access to medical records, proficiency courses and membership of authorised firearms ranges.

(*) Firearms ranges are also inspected and authorised by the Gardai, to exceptionally high construction and safety standards. Many firearms ranges have spent tens of thousands of euros to come up to the Gardai requirements over the past two years.

(*) While there is a distinct difference in how many pistol licences are granted by different Garda Districts, this is caused by the requirement to be a member of an approved range - more licences are granted in areas closer to approved ranges.

(*) In 2007 the Gardai, the Department of Justice, the Irish Sports Council, the governing bodies of target shooting sports, firearms dealers and other stakeholders, all came together to found the Firearms Consultation Panel under the aegis of the Minister for Justice. This groundbreaking body allows all parties to find safe, efficient, well-informed solutions to the concerns of those who use firearms and those who draft and those who enforce firearms law.

In short, the concerns that Deputies Deasy and Mitchell and others have attempted to raise are not based on facts or statistics or current procedures, and serve no useful function other than to scaremonger in the lead-up to the local elections. This is a shameful act on their part.

Yours in Sport,

Sparks

Sunday Business Post:

Aiming at the wrong target
Sunday, November 23, 2008
I read John Burke’s article (16/11/ 08) with some alarm. It stated that gardaí were powerless to impose restrictions on the licensing of handguns, but this is not true.

No person - not the President, the Taoiseach, the Minister for Justice, the Garda Commissioner, nor any of the courts - can direct a Garda superintendent to grant or refuse a licence. The decision is his alone, and he is bound by law to refuse any such application if he feels it would represent a threat to public safety or to the peace.

A superintendent cannot, for example, refuse a licence because it was applied for on a Tuesday, but he can refuse it on the grounds of public safety or on the grounds that the applicant has no secure storage for the firearm, or any one of a number of criteria which have been in the Firearms Act since the founding of the state.

The Garda Commissioner’s comment, that he is powerless to issue guidelines on licensing, is also factually incorrect. He has always had this power, and may issue guidelines at his discretion. What the commissioner cannot do is to order a superintendent to grant or refuse a licence.

Finally, in response to recent media scaremongering on legally-held firearms, I would point out that, since 1971, the number of pistols licensed in Ireland per capita has fallen by 20 per cent, and our firearms laws have been tightened three times, making ours the most restrictive laws in the EU.

National Target
Shooting Association

BornToKill

Possession of handguns rising sharply

Friday, November 21st, 2008 Copper Coast Passage East Shelbourne Tales of the Tellurians

by John O' Connor

Apparently, there are now more legally held handguns in this country than ever before and last week in this newspaper, Deputy John Deasy expressed alarm at the growing trend. The rapid liberalisation of the possession of handguns in this country was extremely worrying, he said.

There are 50 handgun licences in the Waterford/Kilkenny Garda Division and, according to official figures, there are more licensed handguns in Wexford than in any other garda division in the country. The town’s Garda station has issued 108 handgun licences to people in the local area and that figure is added to by the issuing of 33 handgun licences in Enniscorthy, 29 in Gorey and 21 in New Ross. Four years ago, only one such licence was issued in Wexford town.

In fact, the increase in handguns does seem to be a national trend because, for example, there are 75 people in the relatively small town of Athlone legally entitled to own and use handguns. A total of 65 handgun licences have been issued in Longford/Westmeath, 63 in Laois/Offaly and 34 in Roscommon/East Galway. God only knows how many there are in the Dublin, Cork and Limerick urban areas.

It should be stressed that the vast majority of licensed gun owners are extremely careful, sensible people who take the responsibility of owning a gun seriously and many use them for target-shooting only. But, personally speaking, I don’t like guns and I’ve never owned one. Basically, they are killing machines, weapons of destruction and I’ve always been nervous around them.

Sparks

From the Sunday Independent:

Minister's plan to ban handguns is shot down
By John O'Keeffe
Sunday November 23 2008

OFF TARGET: Precision pistol champ Michael Walls says the Government should be punishing criminals, not sports people

The Government's assertion that handguns could more than double in number to 4,000 by 2011 has been branded as "absolute garbage" and "scaremongering" by one of Ireland's leading pistol instructors and shooters, Declan Keogh.

Last week, Justice Minister Dermot Ahern outlined his proposals for a ban on licensing handguns -- which may be expanded to include all firearms held by civilians -- however, gun holders are now calling on the minister to rethink his proposals.

Under the plans, no new licences will be issued for handguns and existing licences will not be renewed unless applications fully meet the requirements of "a radically tightened licensing procedure where the safety of the community will be paramount", the minister said.

Mr Ahern has also publicly stated that there now exists a real possibility that an outright ban on all firearms may come into force if there is "a threat to public safety".

Declan Keogh regards Mr Ahern's analysis as deeply flawed. "From 1972 to 2004, not one licensed pistol was in circulation and it did not prevent the mayhem and murder perpetrated by the criminals," Keogh told the Sunday Independent.

"Pistols were also banned in Britain between 1997 and 1998, yet murder rates actually increased after the ban. This is unsurprising as civilian ownership of lawfully held firearms has no effect on crime rates."

A temporary banning order on handguns was imposed in the early 1970s due to the Troubles, but this was overturned by the High Court in 2004. Since this time, nearly 1,900 have been licensed in the State. The total number of firearms licences issued in the Republic, for all gun types, reached 233,934 in the 12-month period to July 31 last, equating to roughly one firearm for every 16 people in the country.

Michael Walls is the precision pistol competition co-ordinator for the NASRPC (National Association of Sporting Rifle and Pistol Clubs) in Ireland. Currently ranked 7th in the world for this type of shooting, he is clear that the Government is now aiming at the wrong target.

"Your average criminal or drug dealer who is involved in gun crime is not going to their local superintendent and applying for a licence for a gun for use in their 'business'," he told this newspaper.

"Much is made of the possibility of one of our guns being stolen and used in a crime, but no pistol has ever been stolen from licensed holders in Ireland to date. Should I not have a car in case someone steals it and knocks someone down?

"Pistols were banned in England about 11 years ago, and since then gun crime has gone through the roof. Time and effort would be better used to putting criminals behind bars than punishing sports people like myself."

Mr Ahern said last week his concern was that "unless strong and decisive action is taken, the number of handguns could grow exponentially and our firearms regime would equate to that of countries such as the US". But on current and projected statistics, this appears unlikely.

John O'Keeffe is Dean of Law, Dublin Business School

- John O'Keeffe

Sparks

From the letters page in the Examiner:

Smoking guns
THE justice minister has promised a crackdown on legally-held handguns.

I wonder how that will affect the gangs as I didn’t know their guns were legal and licensed.

Is this just another Government smokescreen? I think so.

Why doesn’t it tackle the real root of the problem — the demand for illegal drugs which dictates the supply and is fuelling the murders and madness.

And also in the letters page:

Handguns ban is an attack on good citizens
WHO would have guessed that the Irish would follow British policy in anything at all, let alone the confiscation of legally-owned firearms.

Yet that is exactly what Justice Minister Dermot Ahern is proposing in the face of a “mushrooming” number of handgun licences.

The fact that handgun violence has trebled in Britain since their 1997 ban apparently matters little to politicians hoping to cover their utter incompetence in dealing with spiralling criminal activity.

Handguns here in Canada have been registered for 65 years but a relatively recent surge in gang violence in big cities like Toronto (committed predominantly by minorities) has public officials screaming for these handguns, despite the fact that more than 80% of crime guns are illegally smuggled into the country and the remainder are stolen and traded by these same people.

Politicians don’t want to address the ethnic aspects of this problem and go for the soft target — handguns owned predominantly by white, long-standing and law-abiding citizens.

It’s predictable, but why does Ireland, after enduring decades of home-grown terrorism and violence, suddenly feel now is the time to attack its good citizens?

Rovi

Opinion piece in Sunday Business Post, 30 November 2008 (relevant section in bold)-
http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/wholestory.aspx-qqqt=TOM+MCGURK-qqqs=commentandanalysis-qqqsectionid=3-qqqc=5.3.0.0-qqqn=1-qqqx=1.asp

Food for thought after a week of foot-in-mouth
Sunday, November 30, 2008 By Tom McGurk

Sometimes, though a government’s sell-by date is not quite apparent, an administration gives off a growing impression of chaos and clumsiness. This now seems to be the case in Ireland.

Day after day, Brian Cowen’s government can be found all over the front pages with its foot in its mouth.Day by day, its sense of drift and ennui grows. It appears to have been freewheeling downhill ever since the budget and the over-70s medical card debacle. Much of it may be only perception - but it is through public perception that governments live or die.

Take, for example, the crisis about cross-border shopping.For years, consumers in the Republic have been paying prices way above those in the North.Given that, in many cases, we are often dealing with the same products in supermarkets owned in the north and south by the same company, so it’s hard - even allowing for fluctuations in local tax and floorspace costs - to understand how the divergence could be so great. My suspicion is that the big British chains, when they arrived in the Republic, were only too well aware of how feeble consumer protection is in the south and priced their goods accordingly. How else can you explain how staple items can sometimes be up to 40 per cent dearer in Dundalk than in Newry?

Our consumer protection is pathetic, thanks to years of government inaction and nobody knows this better than the major supermarkets. Last week, for example,Retail Intelligence magazine reported that Tesco had increased the prices of ‘‘significant numbers of branded products’’ at a time when commodity prices were falling. Meanwhile, the Newry shopping campaign is at least putting pressure on Superquinn, which is now advertising ‘‘cheaper than Newry prices’’. However, when you read the small print, Superquinn is offering these prices only on selected products and only while stocks last.

Meanwhile, into this shopping war wades Tanaiste Mary Coughlan with a contribution that leads one to wonder how long a honeymoon year lasts for a Tanaiste. Instead of using her ministerial powers to investigate pricing in the Republic, she tries to imply that it is somehow ‘‘unpatriotic’’ for hard-pressed consumers to shop in the North. From the outset, one sensed that appointing the lightweight Coughlan as Tanaiste was one of Brian Cowen’s least inspired ideas. Now she manages simultaneously to annoy harassed consumers caught in a deepening economic crisis in the run-up to Christmas, and the Northern nationalist community. Is it a case of bad advice or just clumsiness?

That a senior Fianna Fail minister should be suggesting that Newry is somehow not part of Ireland is quite extraordinary. Indeed, why is there - in Coughlan’s opinion - such a vast different between shopping in Newry in a British-owned supermarket and shopping in Dundalk in a British-owned supermarket? The sense of a government reacting to events instead of attempting to control them is also evident in justice minister Dermot Ahern’s plans to ban legally-held handguns.This response to the murder in Limerick of Garryowen rugby player Shane Geoghegan smacks of publicity seeking, while disguising that the crisis is caused by illegal, not legal, handguns.

Ahern said in a statement: ‘‘Were stolen legal handguns used to kill innocent civilians, the present situation, which has not arisen as the result of any policy decision, would be impossible to justify.” The fact, Ahern seeks to disguise, is that, not only do we have no record of any legally-held handgun being used in a murder in the state to date, but because the authorities here failed, when licensing these weapons, to take a ballistic fingerprint from each one in the first place - as is mandatory across the rest of Europe - it would be impossible to even establish that fact.

Even now, the new regulations will still not seek ballistic fingerprinting when current licences are renewed. Meanwhile, a blameless Irish sporting gun community will have to suffer for the gangsters and their illegal weapons. Almost certainly – as was evident in Britain after the Dunblane slaughter led to a handgun ban - the use of firearms by criminals will not decrease.

Just in case your local drug-gang feels bereft at the clampdown on legally-held weapons (which they don’t use anyway), there are, according to the latest figures from the Department of Justice, 53,000 rifles and 77,000 shotguns in private ownership - a ratio of one gun to every 17 people in the country. So, I ask you, how meaningless is Dermot Ahern’s ban on pistol licences as an antidote to gun crime?

It gets worse. Effective electric transport equivalent to oil powered vehicles is at least 30 to 40 years away, so what are we to make of environment minister Eamon Ryan’s expressed belief last week that soon we will be able to plug our cars into windmills in the back garden? Incidentally, it takes eight hours to charge a battery that lasts for 100 kilometres.Let’s hope that at least Santa hears the minister’s plaintive cry. ‘‘We have a massive wind resource we can tap into,” he postulated as he revealed his vision of how soon we would be able to charge the old banger from the windmill by the apple tree to take us to work carbon-free.

The night winds whipping across the wilds of Foxrock will never seem the same again, Eamon. Then, no sooner had the man from Fas informed us on radio - and to national astonishment - that he was entitled to first-class air travel than Taoiseach Brian Cowen was telling us he had ‘‘excellent confidence in him’’. The mystery grows daily as to how someone who seemed as competent as Cowen should now be looking increasingly like Basil Fawlty.

This government lurches from crisis to crisis, and from silliness to silliness, from hair-dos to electric cars to patriotic shopping, as the economic crisis deepens around us. How strange to think that, if most of us had been asked just a year ago who would be the right man at the helm in this type of crisis, we would have picked Cowen.

He needs to get a grip and he needs to start with the people around the cabinet table.He also needs to convince us that he actually wants the job.

Rovi

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/more-than-1200--licensed-firearms-stolen-since-2005-1562971.html

More than 1,200 licensed firearms stolen since 2005

Thursday December 04 2008
More than 1,200 legally held firearms have been stolen in less than four years -- mostly in burglaries from houses.

And fewer than 400 of them have been recovered by gardai so far .
New figures emerged last night, which highlighted the number of guns in circulation at present and their easy accessibility for crime gangs.

These are in addition to the imported firearms, which are brought into the country by drug trafficking networks as "sweeteners" with large heroin, cannabis and ecstasy hauls.

Statistics released by Justice Minister Dermot Ahern revealed that a total of 1,263 licensed firearms were stolen between 2005 and last month.
These included 27 handguns, which had been banned here up to 2004 when a series of judicial decisions revealed flaws in the existing legislation.

Mr Ahern now intends to bring in new legislation to ban handguns again, apart from special sporting categories which could be used in Olympic competitions.

Mr Ahern said he was unable to estimate how many of the stolen guns had been used in a criminal offence.

Outlining his concern at the growth in the number of licensed handguns in circulation, the minister said: "We now have about 1,800 handguns licensed, which was not as a result of a considered or deliberate public policy decision.

"I have concerns about the suitability of a large number of those for legitimate target shooting purposes and I am not going to permit the growth of a handgun culture,"he added.

It was against this background, he said, that he announced his proposals for reform, including a ban on new licences and a strict regime for renewal of existing licences.

These would be included in the Criminal Justice Bill which will be published in the coming weeks, he said.

Rovi

http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/wholestory.aspx-qqqt=LETTERS-qqqs=letters-qqqsectionid=3-qqqc=11.0.0.0-qqqn=20-qqqx=1.asp

Handgun law a necessity

I refer to the article by Tom McGurk (30/11/08) in which he referred to my stated intention to make changes to the licensing regime for handguns.

First, my intention was not, as your columnist stated, in response to the tragic murder of Shane Geoghegan. Indeed, I was on public record on a number of occasions prior to this murder stating that I intended to bring in reforms.

Secondly, the reason why I am proposing to make changes is because Judge Peter Charleton, last July in the High Court, stated that ‘‘a reasonable person is entitled to feel alarmed’’ at the proliferation of pistols. He decried the fact that there was no general policy for permissions for use of these.

There is no getting away from the fact that, up to 2004, there were no licensed handguns in the country. Today, there are more than 1,800. Having given considerable thought to this issue, it was my view and the view of government that, as a matter of public policy, the Irish people would not wish to go down the road of other countries where handguns are readily available, licensed or unlicensed. Also, I was responding to the strong advice of An Garda Siochana .

I am not naive enough to believe that changes to licensing handguns will cure the difficulties that we face with organised crime, but I am very conscious of the fact that, if a High Court judge raises serious concerns about this issue, it is incumbent on me and the government to respond.

Dermot Ahern, Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Dublin 2

Rovi

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2008/1208/breaking13.htm

Relevant section highlighted in bold-

Gardai question five teenagers over East Wall murder

Five people, including a 13-year-old boy, have been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a man (50) in East Wall in Dublin last night.

It is understood the victim, who has been named as Aidan O'Kane, was at his home on Shelmalier Road, East Wall when his house or car was damaged by objects thrown by a gang of 10 youths at about 7.15pm.

He pursued members of the group on to nearby Bargy Road. when one pulled a handgun and fired at him. He was hit once in the stomach.

Mr O'Kane was taken by ambulance to the Mater hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

The five youths arrested today are aged between 13 and 19. They are all being held under Section 30 of Offences Against The State Act at Store Street and Mountjoy

The scene of the shooting remains sealed off pending a Garda technical examination. No weapon has been recovered yet.

Mr O'Kane, a mechanic, was originally from Clontarf and had lived on Shelmalier Road for some time. He was known for fixing neighbours’ bikes and computers.

Mr O'Kane's 25-year-old son was in the family home at the time of the attack and members of the gardaí had been called to the house on the previous night after a report of disturbances.

An appeal for witnesses to the shooting was made today with gardaí calling on young people and parents in particular to contact them if they have information.

“I would ask parents who saw any tell-tale signs, people who came home in a distressed or upset state, youngsters who may have been acting unusual, to come forward,” Assistant Garda Commissioner Alan McHugh said.

The killing was the 20th gun murder this year and came less than a month after Limerick man Shane Geoghegan (28) was shot dead in a case of mistaken identity.

Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern tonight vowed to virtually wipe out handgun ownership in the State amid growing calls for a full-force offensive against the surging gun culture.

“This was a dastardly and despicable crime,” he said. ““The shooting underlines yet again how we have to crack down on handguns in our society.

“At the moment we have to establish whether the gun used in this was illegal or legal, although that it is irrelevant to the family of the deceased man. But my legislation banning the massive growth in ownership of legal handguns is pushing ahead.

“I intend to remove the 1,800 legally held handguns as soon as possible and I know gardaí continue to seize significant numbers of illegal handguns, the Minister added. “I know from talking to senior gardai that handguns continue to pose a major threat and both myself and the Garda will continue to crack down on their use.”

Fine Gael’s justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan called on the Government to order a six-month Garda crackdown on guns and knives and to back his party’s calls for ten year sentences for those convicted of carrying weapons and a new offence of not reporting lost or stolen firearms or ammunition.

“Other measures that Minister Ahern must bring in to stem the rising tide of violence include increased use of curfew orders, and an immediate reversal of intake cuts at the Garda training college,” Mr Flanagan said.

Labour Party TD Joe Costello said the murder shows that “the value placed on human life is getting less and less”.

He accused the Government of failing to cope with the upsurge in violent crime. “A Government which cannot protect its citizens as they go about their daily lives or relax in the privacy of their homes is seriously failing in its duty,” Mr Costello said.

Sinn Féin Dublin City councillor Christy Burke said East Wall residents have been “crying out for action in recent months as the area slid further out of control”.

© 2008 irishtimes.com

Rovi

BreakingNews.ie, Tuesday, December 09, 2008
http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/mhidsnidkfgb/rss2/

Over 1,200 licensed guns stolen in five years

09/12/2008 - 17:44:16

More than 1,200 licensed guns have fallen into the hands of criminals over the past five years, it was revealed tonight.

The stark figures emerged after detectives arrested a sixth teenager over the shooting dead of widower Aidan O’Kane in Dublin.

The 16-year-old was detained at Whitehall Garda station in the city’s northside while five others aged between 13 and 19 years remain in custody.

The killing has been branded a watershed that demands unprecedented action to stamp out Ireland’s surging gun culture.

But Justice Minister Dermot Ahern tonight insisted it was not just politicians and gardai who were responsible for taking weapons off the streets.

“The fact that young people were involved is extremely worrying, not just from a policing point of view, but from a societal point of view,” he said.

“We have to ask ourselves how do these young people get these guns.

“This is not just a question for politicians but all sectors of society and we must question ourselves as to what kind of society we want.”

Official records from Mr Ahern show 1,263 registered firearms – including 27 handguns – have been stolen since 2003.

Only 373 of these have been recovered and the minister admits it is impossible to say how many stolen handguns are used in crime, because weapons are not always found.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh, Sinn Féin’s justice spokesman who obtained the figures in a written Dáil question, said they underscored the need for a tightening up of gun laws.

“The murder of Aidan O’Kane must serve as an eye opener for the Government which sparks them into action,” he said.

“We need to face up to the fact that Irish society is facing a growing crisis particularly when we realise that young teenagers are carrying guns.”

Mr Ahern said he has been fighting almost on his own against the surging gun culture – whether licensed or unlicensed – over the past few months.

The minister revealed new figures from the Garda’s Operation Anvil against organised crime which show that 1,192 firearms have been seized since May 2005.

The long-running investigation has also seen 126 murder arrests.

“We are never going to totally eradicate crime that is the reality,” said Mr Ahern.

“What we have to do is give the resources to those whose job it is to tackle crime and prevent it happening.

“In fairness to the Gardaí, while there have been a number of high profile cases there are also a lot of very low profile cases and situations which do not come to court where they have stopped crime from happening.”

Mr O’Kane, a 50-year-old father of one, was chasing youths for throwing eggs at his home on Shelmalier Road, East Wall, when one pulled a handgun and fired a single fatal bullet into his stomach.

Detectives yesterday detained four male youths, aged 13, 15, 16 and 18, and a 19-year-old woman under section 30 of the Offences Against The State Act.

Last night, the periods of detention for the four youngest suspects were extended for a further 24 hours.

The killing is the 20th gun murder this year and came less than a month after rugby player Shane Geoghegan was gunned down in Limerick when gangland criminals mistook him for their intended target.

Rovi

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/gardai-arrest-five-teenagers--after-shocking-city-murder-1567938.html

Relevant section highlighted in bold-

Gardai arrest five teenagers after shocking city murder

By Tom Brady Security Editor
Tuesday December 09 2008

A MAN who was murdered near his inner city Dublin home on Sunday night may have been lured to his death by a gang of youths.

Last night five teenagers, including a girl, were being questioned by detectives about the shooting that has shocked the nation because of the age of the attackers.

Among those being held is a 13-year-old boy, who is already out on bail in relation to a separate offence. The killer used a 9mm handgun, which has not yet been found.

Victim Aidan O'Kane (50) was shot once in the stomach as he chased youngsters, who had thrown eggs at the front door of his home at Shelmalier Road in the East Wall area of the north inner city.

The prime suspect for the shooting, a 15-year-old, is also in custody. He is well known to gardai and has made several court appearances in the past.
Gardai believe at least 10 youths were in the area at the time and say they are part of a group involving up to 16 teenagers.

Mr O'Kane, a self-employed mechanic, was at home with his 25-year-old son, Dylan, and a friend at around 7pm when the eggs were hurled at the front of his house.

He chased the youths down Shelmalier Road and through a laneway leading on to Bargy Road. At the end of the laneway, one of the youths produced a handgun and shot him before making his escape.

Last night detectives were trying to establish if the man had been lured into an ambush in the laneway for a pre-planned shooting, or if he was the innocent victim of a spur of the moment act.

They confirmed he had been subjected to a campaign of harassment. On Saturday, gardai called to his house after he made a complaint that youths had set fire to a wheel of his car.

Neighbours said there had been other incidents in which youths intimidated Mr O'Kane in recent weeks and they believed he had been targeted because he had been friendly with locals and often mended bicycles and motorcycles.

Early yesterday gardai arrested a 13-year-old. Three other boys, aged 15, 16 and 18, were also detained. They were all taken to the murder investigation headquarters at Store Street station for questioning.

A 19-year-old girl was also arrested and taken to Mountjoy station. Four are being held on suspicion of withholding information about a crime and the 15-year-old for suspected illegal possession of a firearm.

Gardai were trying to find out who had supplied the handgun and whether the killer had been carrying it earlier or had hidden it in the laneway.
Assistant Garda Commissioner Al McHugh, who is heading the investigation, appealed to parents whose children might have arrived home "in a distressed state" on Sunday night to contact the gardai at Store Street station (tel 01 6668089).

He asked local parents to find out where their children had been between 6pm and 8pm on Sunday and whether any of them had witnessed or heard details of this "traumatic incident".

Commissioner McHugh added : "There has already been a good response from people in the East Wall area and we want to build on that. There is a good relationship between the gardai and the local community there".

Problems
He said there had been some public order problems in the area but it was no different to inner city areas elsewhere.

An officer pointed out that there were 30 dedicated community gardai in the Store Street area and said they were operating an unique case management programme in which gardai kept in contact with youngsters, who had fallen foul of the law in an effort to divert them from a life of crime and prevent repeat offences.

He said there had been a remarkably good success rate of over 50pc so far in the district.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen last night described the murder as an "appalling tragedy" and an "outrage". He said it was particularly appalling that those suspected of being involved were very young.

Offering his sympathy to the O'Kane family, Mr Cowen said the incident reinforced the correctness of the decision by Justice Minister Dermot Ahern last month to take licensed handguns out of circulation.

Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Rev Diarmuid Martin, said the possibility that very young people were in possession of and used a firearm was an ominous development in the serious problem of violence in Dublin city.

He added : "It would leave an entire community with a new sense of insecurity".

Fine Gael's justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan called on the Government to introduce a six-month operation to take guns and knives off the streets and advocated tougher penalties for firearms offences.
- Tom Brady Security Editor

Sparks

From today's Irish Times Magazine:

Gun enthusiasts caught in the political crossfire

True aim: Sally McCarthy and coach Joe Conroy in Fermoy Gun Club, Co Cork. Photograph: Daragh Mac Sweeney/ProvisionTrue aim: Sally McCarthy and coach Joe Conroy in Fermoy Gun Club, Co Cork. Photograph: Daragh Mac Sweeney/Provision

MICHELLE McDONAGH

ON A BITTERLY COLD Sunday morning in the depths of rural Co Cork, a man wearing earmuffs and thick goggles lifts a heavy rifle onto his shoulder and lines up his shot. He takes aim at his defenceless target 50 metres away. He smiles as he hits his target and prepares to reload.

There is no scream of pain or shock, no blood or gore in sight, no damage caused at all, really, apart from a small hole in a large sheet of white paper.

The man is one of over 100 members of the Fermoy Rifle Club, partaking in what target shooters regard as a "high performance sport" and which they claim is no threat whatsoever to public safety.

With all of the negative publicity surrounding the increase in gun crime in Ireland, further ignited by last Sunday's shooting of Dubliner Aidan O'Kane, it is no surprise that any sport involving the use of firearms is viewed with suspicion. The Irish shooting community was particularly upset and annoyed by recent comments made by Wexford TD and Fine Gael spokesman for Justice, John Deasy, linking the licensing of handguns in Ireland with the rise in the murder rate. In an effort to dispel some of the myths around shooting sports, the Fermoy Rifle Club held an open day for politicians and the media at their range in Ballydague, Ballyhooley, Co Cork last Sunday.

Legislation currently being drafted under the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Dermot Ahern will see a radical tightening of the regulations in relation to the licensing of firearms in Ireland, including a ban on the licensing of handguns. The aim of the legislation, according to the Minister, is to reduce the number of illegally held handguns in the country and the risk of stolen weapons being used to kill innocent people, or of a "Dunblane-type incident".

However, Irish target-shooters argue that the Government is hitting the wrong people with the new law, The Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous) Provisions Bill. They claim Ireland already has the strictest regulations in Europe in relation to the licensing of firearms and point out that not a single licensed pistol (that they are aware of) has been stolen since 2004 when a 30-year-ban on the ownership of pistols was lifted.

Gerry McCarthy of Fermoy Rifle Club says the reason the country is awash with illegal firearms in Limerick and other places is that the crime gangs have no problem getting them, as they are coming in with drug shipments clandestinely. "These people have no need to come knocking on our doors - a single-shot precision rifle would be worthless to them."

Kieran Barry, founding member of the Fermoy club, one of the largest and best-known shooting clubs in the country, points out that the shooting community welcomes the introduction of any new regulations that will increase the safety of what is already a very safe sport. A former garda, he says the Minister is looking at the wrong people, adding, "We are no threat to public safety".

He was introduced to firearms during his Garda training. Like a number of his fellow club members, he has had the honour of successfully representing his county in national competition on several occasions. He set up the Fermoy Rifle club in April 1992 as a target-shooting club with a group of seven others. Today, the club has over 100 members from all over Munster and is one of the largest of the country's 30 or so similar organisations.

"OUR MAIN AIM was to provide a facility for target shooters who were interested in competing on a national and international level," he says. "We have worked closely with the ballistics section of An Garda Síochána to develop this facility and sought their advice since they became involved in regulating the sport. They are happy that this is a well-run, safe facility licensed through our local Superintendent."

Anyone wanting to use the club's facilities must have a license and undergo a full safety course. Once they arrive at the club, they must sign in, report to the range safety officer on duty and get permission to go to a firing point. Their firearm is inspected before shooting begins and, at the end of the shoot, the gun is inspected again, dismantled and returned to its safety case. "All shooting is from a static position, there is no movement with loaded firearms. Nobody is allowed to walk around carrying guns on their hips, although people tend to believe what they see on TV in action movies," says Barry.

There are five different ranges at the Fermoy Club, covering disciplines such as prone target rifle, bench rest rifle and Olympic pistol. "The attraction for myself is the ability to hit a piece of paper accurately with a bullet. It's a challenge between the climate and various conditions on the day to hit a 9mm bull at 50 metres consistently on every occasion; you only get one chance at every shot."

Gerry McCarthy, who is the international coordinator of the 1500 Precision Pistol Shooting (PPC) Competition in Ireland, points out that competing on an international level in shooting involves a vast amount of training day after day as well as putting hundreds of rounds of ammunition down a range. "It's very much like playing golf: you only do well if you practice and, like golf, shooting involves 80 per cent mental concentration and effort."

It's also an expensive hobby, according to McCarthy, with a competition-standard firearm typically costing in excess of €3,000 and up to €15,000 a year for ammunition to keep a shooter at the top of his/her sport.

McCarthy highlights the lengths that gun-owners have to go to to get a license to own a firearm in this country. All licensed owners are already strictly vetted by the Garda and, following the enactment of the new legislation, the restrictions will be even further tightened.

Although shooting is a predominantly male sport, the Fermoy club is working with the Irish Sports Council's Women in Sports initiative to encourage more women into the sport. The first qualified firearms instructor in the country, Bernadette Murphy, is a member of the Fermoy club.

Gun Law: A round-up of legislation

While the vast majority of firearms licences in this country are for hunting rifles and shotguns, target-shooting also has a long history in Ireland.

In August 1972, the then-minister of justice, Desmond O'Malley, made an order under the Irish Firearms Act 1964, Clause 4 (1) that all private, registered pistols and rifles (above .22 calibre) be handed in for a maximum of one month. However, the one-month Temporary Custody Order was extended by the government for 32 years, which had a major impact on shooting sports in Ireland.

The extension of the Custody Order was only brought to an end in 2004 by a constitutional challenge by a private citizen, Frank Brophy. Within three months of the ban being lifted, an Irish target-shooting team competed in the Austrian Open Shooting Championship and took six podium places.

The number of handgun licences granted has increased significantly since 2004. 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.

In July of this year, Justice Peter Charleton said that there was "a pressing need" for drawing together into a clear law the multiple "piecemeal" rules on the control of handguns here.

He said reasonable people were entitled to feel alarmed about a large increase in the number of pistols licensed for private use in Ireland in recent years.

Rovi

http://dynamic.rte.ie/quickaxs/209-rte-marianfinucane-2008-12-14.smil

Needs RealPlayer, 'guns' segment begins at 36:50.

Rovi

4.42 MB .pdf download-
http://www.lawsociety.ie/Gazette/Gazette%202008/Law%20Society%20Gazette%20Vol%20102%20No%2010%20Dec%202008.pdf

Pages 22/23-

New crime provisions not a panacea

The murder of Shane Geoghegan in Limerick provoked outrage in both the public and political
arenas. Diarmuid Griffin asks whether recent proposals will be effective

The public have once again voiced their concern over violent gang crime in Ireland and have called for something to be done. So what have politicians come up with, and will their proposals be effective?

The political response has been to put forward new legislative provisions designed to tackle organised crime and the apparent ability of those involved in such crime to evade the criminal justice system. In this instance, the suggested provisions address the use of covert surveillance to aid in the investigation and prosecution of criminals, and new legislation dealing with the licensing of firearms.

Justice Minister Dermot Ahern published the heads of a draft Surveillance Bill to provide a legislative framework for the use of covert surveillance by the gardaí. The minister said that the “bill is evidence of the government’s serious intentions in ensuring that the security forces of the state have every possible advantage … so that they can effectively thwart the activities of those involved in serious crime”.

[section dealing with the Surveillance Bill snipped]

Pages 22/23 (cont.)-

The man with the golden gun
The Minister for Justice has also proposed to introduce new provisions to deal with the licensing of firearms in the yet to be published Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. In particular, Mr Ahern plans to ban the licensing of handguns and to place further restrictions on applications for the renewal of handguns already licensed.

Provisions dealing with the licensing of firearms are spread over numerous pieces of legislation, dating back to the Firearms Act 1925. Possession of a firearm is illegal unless it has been licensed by a garda superintendent and, from 1972-2004, the gardaí operated a stringent practice in the licensing of firearms. However, from 2004 onwards, this practice was called into question by a number of judicial review proceedings in the High Court, resulting in the gardaí adopting a more liberal approach to the licensing of firearms, in particular handguns.

These proposals are unusual, in that they do not appear to acknowledge recent reform in the area and are not specifically targeted at gangland crime.

Part 5 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 has already introduced a new framework for licensing. Unfortunately, many of its provisions have yet to be brought into force by the minister. It makes no sense to introduce new measures when provisions in the 2006 act have yet to be activated.

Further, with a view to achieving the goals outlined by Mr Ahern, the then Minister for Justice, Brian Lenihan, signed an order in February of this year restricting the type of firearms and ammunition that can be licensed. The order states that all other firearms, other than those listed in the order, are restricted firearms. Thus, the restriction of firearms is already in place and if the minister wishes to further restrict firearms, he is empowered to do so under section 29 of the 2006 act. A new legislative provision is not needed to achieve this goal.

Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy recently stated that he has no power to issue guidelines on the licensing of firearms and handguns. This is a strange statement to make, because section 31 of the act empowers the commissioner, with the consent of the minister, to issue guidelines to superintendents on the practical application of the Firearms Act 1925-2006 and the conditions attached to applications for and the authorisation of firearms. This section was brought into force in August 2006.
Finally, new provisions that deal with the licensing of firearms will in no way tackle the circulation of illegal firearms in the state. It is these non-licensed firearms that are being used by those involved in organised or gangland crime.

The 39 steps
There appears to be a great deal of confusion surrounding the legislative provisions and judicial decisions in the area of firearms legislation. Rather than introduce further piecemeal provisions, the area needs to be codified to ensure that a restrictive approach to the licensing of firearms is adopted. This will probably have little or no effect on gangland crime, but it may impact on incidences of firearm-assisted suicide and firearm-related deaths and injuries.

In March 2007, I wrote a ‘Viewpoint’ piece for the Gazette (p14) on the provisions contained in what is now the Criminal Justice Act 2007. That piece of legislation was proposed by the then Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, to tackle serious gangland crime and to address the imbalance in the criminal justice system. The legislation was also interpreted by some as a ploy to boost the profile of the minister prior to the general election. In any event, the act was not equipped to deal with what McDowell stated it would achieve and, incidentally, he went on to lose his seat in that election.

Perhaps the public are more discerning on criminal justice issues than politicians assume. This does not appear to have occurred to the opposition, who have not produced anything of significance that would inspire confidence in a fresh approach.

The sense that the murder of Shane Geoghegan could have happened to anyone in the wrong place at the wrong time generated a great feeling of fear and powerlessness among the public, who usually look at gangland crime from the outside in. Dealing effectively with those who commit violent crime of this nature is an almost impossible task. However, if there is a lesson to be learned from our attempts to tackle this kind of crime since the death of Veronica Guerin and Detective Garda Gerry McCabe in 1996, it is that there are limits to what legislation alone can achieve.

A renewed government commitment to fund and implement the Limerick Regeneration Plan, which aims to transform the city’s most deprived areas at a time of scant resources, would be evidence of the government’s true commitment to tackle the cycle of violence in those communities.


Diarmuid Griffin lectures in criminal law at the NUI Galway.

Page 24-27 (part of)-

Uncharted WATERS

She’s come a long way from her days as a mugging decoy on the
streets of Boston. Just over two years into her new job, Kathleen O’Toole
speaks with Colin Murphy, in a two-part interview, about her role as
Chief Inspector of the Garda Inspectorate

<big snip>

In the week of this interview, Justice Minister Dermot Ahern proposed a ban on handguns as one response to gangland gun crime. Kathleen O’Toole would “absolutely” support such a ban.

“I have always been anti-handgun. I’ve had to respond to those horrific calls of teenagers shot and killed or injured in inner-city neighbourhoods. I think any major city police chief in the US would be.”

She is, she says, a “civil libertarian”, and on issues such as guns and surveillance – also in the news recently as a result of new measures being proposed for the use of evidence in court obtained through those means – she believes a balance must be struck between civil liberties and crime fighting. But in the US, on the guns issue, that balance has been missed.

She cautions about relying on the argument that most gun-owners are law-abiding. “A lot of guns that are used in the commission of crime in the States – and I suspect that that trend will develop here, if there aren’t controls – are guns that are stolen from their rightful owners.”

Rovi

http://www.greenparty.ie/en/news/latest_news/de_burca_slams_handgun_apologists

De Burca slams handgun 'apologists'

Issued: 18 December 2008
Statement by Deirdre de Burca
Spokesperson on Health and Children; Defence; European Affairs; Gaeltacht


Senator backs moves towards a ban in the new year

With the escalation of gun crime in Ireland – there is no scope for legal possession of handguns, Senator Deirdre de Burca said today.

The Green Party Senator and Dublin European Parliament candidate said almost 1,300 guns were reported stolen over the past six years. These included 27 handguns.

"Clearly many of these weapons fell into the hands of gun criminals who subsequently used them to terrorise, maim and perhaps even kill in pursuit of their vile trade," she said.

Senator de Burca fully backed a move by Justice Minister Dermot Ahern to bring in an outright ban on handguns. She totally disagreed with those who argued that legally-held guns were not a threat.

The Senator added that from the early 1970s until 2004 handguns were effectively banned as part of efforts to curb the threat from paramilitaries. But due to a series of court rulings this was relaxed and the number of legally-held handguns increased significantly in recent years.

"I welcome the de facto ban on issuing new handgun licences. But the Minister for Justice is to be congratulated on his plan to ban all handguns in legislation due early next year," Senator de Burca said.

Senator de Burca said there are currently 1,800 legally-held handguns in the Republic. "If current rates of growth in gun licensing were sustained we could have ownership rates comparable with some American states. That would be totally unacceptable in a country which has kept a civilian unarmed police force through many crises," she concluded.

Rovi

http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2008/12/28/story38480.asp#

Garda Inspectorate head backs ban on handgun ownership
Sunday, December 28, 2008 - By John Burke

Kathy O’Toole, the head of the Garda Siochana Inspectorate, has lent her support to proposals by justice minister Dermot Ahern for a ban on private handgun ownership.

O’Toole, a former police commissioner in Boston, said she would ‘‘absolutely’’ support a total ban on handguns, based on her experience of murders in the US which were related to the theft and misuse of legitimately owned guns.

Earlier this month, Ahern said he would introduce legislation next year that would lead to a complete ban on the private ownership of handguns. The minister’s move came after the shooting dead of Shane Geoghegan in Limerick, in a case of mistaken identity.

The number of handguns in private ownership has risen from zero in 2004 to more than 1,800 at present, after a number of gun owners challenged the prohibitive application of firearms legislation by gardai involved in licensing guns.

O’Toole, who was appointed chief inspector of Garda Siochana Inspectorate by former justice minister Michael McDowell in 2006, said that her experience of private handgun ownership, while working as a police officer in the US, had been extremely negative.

‘‘I have always been anti-handgun,” she said. ‘‘I’ve had to respond to those horrific calls of teenagers shot and killed or injured in inner-city neighbourhoods. I think any major city police chief in the US would be [anti-handgun].”

O’Toole said the debate on handgun ownership did not arise in the US, where the right to bear arms is protected by the constitution, subject to qualifications of public safety. However, she cautioned about relying on the argument that most gun owners are law-abiding.

‘‘A lot of guns that are used in the commission of crime in the States - and I suspect that trend will develop here, if there aren’t controls - are guns that are stolen from their rightful owners,” O’Toole said in an interview in the end-of-year edit ion of the Law Society Gazette.

Ahern is liaising with the gardai, senior officials in his department and other interested parties about the handgun issue, and has indicated he may make allowances for those involved in sporting pistol shooting.

The National Association of Regional Game Councils (NARGC), the main firearms lobby group in Ireland, has consistently argued that legally held handguns do not pose a risk to public safety.

The NARGC has lent financial and legal support to gun owners who have successfully challenged the state on gun licensing.

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http://www.independent.ie/national-news/criminals-targeting-owners-of-legal-guns-1589267.html

Criminals targeting owners of legal guns

By Tom Brady Security Editor
Friday January 02 2009

THIRTY-ONE handguns have been stolen by criminals -- including the gangster's favourite weapon, a Glock semi-automatic pistol -- since the law on licensing was relaxed four years ago.

New official figures show that a variety of pistols, revolvers, air pistols and starting pistols and revolvers have been taken from the owners' homes. A breakdown of the figures show that the haul included one Glock, two Webley revolvers and a Beretta semi-automatic pistol.

Apart from handguns, a further 1,236 firearms have been stolen since 2005 and only 373 have been recovered.

Loopholes

The statistics have stiffened the determination of Justice Minister Dermot Ahern to press ahead with new legislation to seal off legal loopholes that have resulted in a huge increase in the number of legally held handguns since 2004.

A total of 1,600 pistol licences were granted by the courts last year, and it was estimated that the number could have risen to more than 4,000 in three years time if no action was taken to sort out the legal mess.

Mr Ahern has been signalling a crackdown since the summer following remarks by High Court judge Peter Charleton, who said reasonable people were entitled to feel alarmed about the large increase

He felt there was a pressing need for drawing together the multiple "piecemeal" rules into a clear law. Since Mr Ahern announced his plan to ban handguns, which will exclude small calibre sporting pistols, he has been subjected to an intensive campaign from the gun lobby.

However, Mr Ahern is urgently preparing the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous) Provisions Bill, which will be brought forward shortly.

Aware

He said: "While I am aware that the vast majority of persons with licensed firearms pursue their interests legitimately, public safety has to be the paramount consideration and I will take whatever action is necessary to ensure that it is put beyond doubt in our laws."

The growth of gun culture in this country is also illustrated by the fact that since the setting up of the garda's anti-crime drive, Operation Anvil, in late 2005, more than 1,200 firearms have been recovered in Dublin and almost 1,000 across the rest of the country.

- Tom Brady Security Editor

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http://www.independent.ie/national-news/replica-handguns-seized-in-searches-by-gardai-1592938.html

Replica handguns seized in searches by gardai

By Tom Brady Security Editor
Tuesday January 06 2009

Seven replica handguns, which can be converted into lethal weapons, have been recovered by the Garda Special Branch as part of a crackdown on the Continuity IRA.

Detectives seized the firearms and a quantity of ammunition during searches in south Dublin.

Last night a well-known dissident republican in his 60s and four other suspects in their 20s, three men and a woman, were being held for questioning under section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.

Senior anti-terrorist officers believe their operation smashed CIRA plans to carry out a series of "fundraising" armed robberies in Dublin and surrounding counties.

All five suspects are from the Ballybrack and Loughlinstown areas of south County Dublin.

The arrests were made by armed detectives on Sunday night after they had stopped a car in Tallaght and subsequently carried out a search of an apartment in Loughlinstown.

The five can be detained without charge for up to 72 hours under the legislation. They were being held last night in Terenure, Blackrock and Shankill garda stations.

The garda swoops followed an ongoing investigation by the Special Branch into the activities of dissident paramilitary groups in the capital and their links to crime.

Tests were being carried out on the seized weapons at the garda technical bureau in the Phoenix Park last night to determine the extent of the alterations to the guns and find out if they were usable.

Follow-up inquiries are currently under way into the source of the firearms and more than 70 bullets that were also found during the searches.

Police in Britain have noticed an increase in the number of replica weapons, which can be bought legitimately there and then converted into real guns by firearms experts.

Supply

Senior officers here and in the UK became concerned about the opening up of a new supply line of deadly weapons four years ago after it emerged that a 76-year-old man and his son had been converting deactivated firearms and selling them to criminals.

Possession of deactivated military or police handguns, rifles or sub machineguns is illegal here. But it is possible to buy realistic-looking toy guns.

Last month Justice Minister Dermot Ahern announced plans for new legislation to crack down on the number of legally held handguns, which has mushroomed since legal loopholes emerged back in 2004.

- Tom Brady Security Editor

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http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/0108/breaking5.htm
Relevant section highlighted in bold.

One man dead, one critically injured in Dublin shooting

IRISH TIMES REPORTERS

Gardaí are continuing to investigate a gun attack in Dublin last night that left one man dead and another critically injured in the first gangland shooting of the new year.

The gunman opened fire on the two victims as they were sitting in their car, a black Volvo with UK registered number plates, on Langrishe Place, a cul de sac off Summerhill in Dublin's north inner city.

Gardaí believe the killer was in the car with the men when he opened fire. Both victims were shot in the head.

The killer then ran from the scene. A handgun was found at Gloucester Diamond near the scene and gardaí believe it is the murder weapon.

The car with the wounded men went out on to the busy Summerhill road, colliding with crash barriers in the centre of the road.

Gardaí were called out to a suspected road traffic collision at 8.40pm but discovered the shot men in the car when they arrived at the scene. Both of the victims were rushed by ambulance to the nearby Mater and St James's hospitals.

One of the men was pronounced dead at 9.15pm at the Mater.

The other victim remains in a critical condition in St James's with Garda sources saying he would be lucky to survive.

The man who died was later named as Michael “Roly” Cronin. He was a well-known drug dealer and had a number of convictions for heroin dealing going back to the mid-1990s. Despite spending a number of years in prison he remained active on the drugs scene.

Labour’s Joe Costello said the shooting was “savage” and called on the Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern to introduce “zero licensing of handguns”.

© 2009 irishtimes.com

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A statement issued by Joe Costello (Labour Party Spokesperson on Europe and Human Rights) on the Labour Party website-
http://www.labour.ie/press/listing/123140390846947.html

Gangland murder shows need for legislation on guns
Issued : Thursday 8 January, 2009

Condemning the shooting of two men in Langrishe Place in the Summerhill area of the North Inner City last night which has left one man dead and another seriously injured, Deputy Joe Costello said that "this savage crime on a quiet residential street in my constituency, is another example of gangland crime which is reaching epidemic proportions throughout the country.

"Undoubtedly there was a drugs connection in this latest gangland killing, too", he said.
"Over 2,200 handguns were seized by Gardaí in the last four years, including 1,200 in Dublin alone, according to Department of Justice figures last month.
"The Minister for Justice has promised legislation to clamp down on the ready availability of handguns. So far he has not delivered on his promise.
"He should have the legislation ready for debate when the Dáil resumes later this month and it should be passed as a matter of urgency.
"There is no valid reason why any citizen should be entitled to have a legally held handgun in their possession or in their home.
"Zero licensing of handguns will ensure that no such weapons can be stolen by criminals in the future and will enable the Gardaí to concentrate on seizing and decommissioning illegally held weapons", Deputy Costello concluded.