SBP's Reporting - Mods to transfer to clippings?

knockon

Another piece in the Sunday Business Post by the Public Affairs Correspondent John Burke. Seems to have a good interest in the Sport.
4 out of the last 5 on press clippings are his.

Hunters ‘in legal quandary’ over gun licence error
07 March 2010 By John Burke Public Affairs Correspondent

The Department of Justice took four months to inform the Department of the Environment about a major error in its new firearms licensing system.

The justice department has already confirmed that it accidentally omitted a declaration on the new licence which permits gun-owners to hunt legally in the state.

The mistake means holders of the new licence who shot protected animals during the recently-closed hunting seasons for wildfowl and other game may have done so illegally.

The error will affect an estimated 200,000 shotgun owners who are expected to cross to the new licence regime this year.

Correspondence seen by The Sunday Business Post shows that the Department of Justice did not contact the Department of the Environment’s National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) about the error until last December, despite being notified of the mistake as far back as last August.

In a letter dated December 4 last year, a senior official at the justice department argued against informing the NPWS about the ‘‘huge financial and logistical problems’’ which the error was likely to cause.

The error was highlighted months earlier by Des Crofton, a member of the Firearms Consultative Panel, which advises the justice minister on gun policy.

Crofton wrote to the Department of Justice as far back as August 20 last year, advising officials that the licence -which was and still is being rolled out nationally - had a number of flaws.

They included the lack of a declaration giving the holder the legal authority to hunt protected game.

The Department of Justice downplayed the error and told the NPWS that it was ‘‘a paper exercise’’.

According to the Department of the Environment, officials from the NPWS advised the Department of Justice that the declaration had to be included on the new licence.

The change to the new licence came into operation before the start of the hunting season last year. However, the justice department had ‘‘unfortunately’’ left out the endorsement from the new certificate, according to the Department of the Environment.

‘‘The new firearms certification does not appear to reflect the legal requirements of the existing wildlife and firearms law," said a statement from the Department of the Environment.

‘‘It would appear that hunters who have been issued with new firearms certificates now find themselves in a legal quandary."

Cass

Already in press clippings thread.

knockon

Thanks - I noted the older one from Feb 21st already in clippings -same story

Rovi

Thanks for the heads-up.
It's certainly a very similar story, but it does have some differences so I've put it into the Press Clippings thread in the interests of completeness: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=64807559&postcount=156