Justice bill to force legal gun owners to keep guns in safes
Under new legislation legal owners of firearms will be obliged to lock their guns in secure safes.
The move is the first of a number of security measures to combat the growing use of firearms, both in the criminal underworld and in personal disputes.
The Criminal Justice Bill 2004, published yesterday, will require gun owners to provide "secure accommodation" before they are issued with a firearms certificate by gardaí.
Justice Minister Michael McDowell said that under existing law - as highlighted in a recent Supreme Court ruling - gardaí could not attach pre-conditions to the issuing of firearms certificates.
Mr McDowell hopes the measures will help reduce the theft of legally-held guns by organised criminal gangs, many of whom specialise in supplying weapons to other criminals.
There are an estimated 212,000 legally-held weapons in the state.
Gardaí have repeatedly raised concerns at the poor security measures taken by many legal gun owners and the extent to which these firearms end up in the criminal underworld, to be used in shootings and murders.
Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy told a Dáil committee last year that the number of homicides involving firearms had doubled between 2001 and 2003.
Figures show the number of shootings jumped from 54 in the first quarter of 2003 to 83 in the first quarter of 2004. There was also a substantial rise in burglaries and robberies of cash and goods in transit.
Mr McDowell said yesterday he would be bringing in further measures during the committee stage of the bill in the autumn.
He has indicated those convicted of firearms offences will serve "substantial" mandatory jail sentences under these measures. This follows his displeasure at the sentences handed down by judges.
The minister is also considering an "amnesty" for people in possession of firearms as a preparatory step to introducing mandatory sentencing.
The Criminal Justice Bill also contains proposals on increasing detention periods, widening garda powers in relation to issuing search warrants and allowing gardaí to forcibly take mouth swabs for a DNA sample.
Fine Gael justice spokesman Jim O'Keeffe said the bill's extra powers were of limited use if garda staffing levels were not increased.
He criticised the minister for not using the bill to put the witness protection programme on a statutory footing.
Labour party justice spokesman Joe Costello said he would try to ensure individual rights were protected.
