Highest legal gun ownership in border counties

Cavan and Monaghan have the highest rate of ownership of legally-held weapons in the State.

Figures obtained from the Department of Justice reveal that the two counties, which share the same Garda division, have the highest rate of ownership of legally held weapons in the Republic.

More than one in 12 residents in the two counties have been issued with a firearms certificate in the past three years.

A total of 11,363 valid firearm certificates are held by people from the two counties — a figure which equates to 8.5% of their population — a rate almost double the national average of 4.4%.

However, the actual percentage of the population holding firearms certificate is lower as in many cases single individuals will hold several different firearms.

Other counties or Garda divisions with a relatively high proportion of licensed firearms based on population are Wexford (8.1%), Laois/Offaly (7.9%) and Roscommon/Longford (7.8%).

Although there are more than 12,800 licensed firearms recorded in Dublin, the capital has the lowest level of legal firearm ownership in Ireland with just 1% of the population having a firearms certificate.

Cork has the highest number of licensed firearms of any county with more than 20,200 certificates, although ownership is heavily concentrated in rural parts, as ownership of firearms in Cork city equates to just 1.5% of its population.

According to the Department of Justice, there was a total of 200,436 firearms licensed in the state in December 2014. Firearm certificates are issued for a period of three years and relate to all types of firearms including rifles, shotguns, and handguns.

However, the levels of gun ownership could soon be affected under Government plans, as Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald is examining proposals for a review of the firearms licensing system which would see a clampdown on certain weapons.

A joint Garda and Department of Justice working group has recommended that there should be a prohibition on grounds of public safety of some classes of weapons which are currently licensed.

They include some handguns and semi-automatic rifles, as well as shotguns capable of holding more than three rounds.

The proposal is being strongly opposed by an umbrella group, the Sports Coalition, whose membership includes the National Association of Sporting Rifle and Pistol Clubs, the Irish Clay Pigeon Shooting Association and National Association of Regional Game Councils.

Sports Coalition spokesman Des Crofton has described the proposed reforms as “biased, self-serving, inaccurate, and vindictive”.

Senior gardaí have voiced repeated concern that there is no justification for the continued license of semi-automatic centre-fire rifles amid fears that such weapons have been used in a number of high-profile atrocities such as the shooting in Oslo, Norway in 2011 when 77 people were killed.

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald said that she intended to conclude the consideration of the issues in the near future, as she was conscious that a firearm licensing renewal process was due to commence at the end of July.

Separate figures provide by An Garda Síochána reveal that a total of 1,710 firearms were stolen between 2010 and 2014, of which 1,109 were legally held weapons.