Minister envisages mandatory firearms sentences

Justice Minister Michael McDowell has said he plans to implement a minimum sentence policy for firearms charges and will review current drug trafficking legislation.

The news comes after Minister McDowell announced plans to build two new prisons that will be the largest ever constructed in Ireland.

The new laws will force the judiciary to toughen up on certain sentencing policies.

He told delegates at the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors annual conference it was all part of a major drive to tackle the threat of gangland underworld crime.

He said drugs and guns had become closely interlinked and the laws needed to be tightened.

The minister hopes a gun amnesty will prove as successful as similar initiatives in the UK.

He said the statutory amnesty for paramilitaries could be extended to other criminals.