Combating Firearms Trafficking and other Firearms-Related Offences: Motion
Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-17
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Jim O'Callaghan (FF), Dublin Bay South

It may have nearly happened but it did not happen, which is another thing. It is still a fairly remarkable statistic that we find ourselves in a situation where last year and this year to date, there has not been a gun-related homicide. It is something to be extremely welcomed.
Senator McDowell raised a question about what happens if we opt in under Article 3 and then, let us say, we go into negotiations and they do not work out for us and we do not want to be bound by it. That is provided for in paragraph 2 of Article 3 of Protocol 21, which states: "If after a reasonable period of time a measure ... cannot be adopted with the United Kingdom or Ireland taking part, the Council may [still] adopt such measure" without Ireland taking part.
The Council may still adopt it without Ireland taking part. What happens then is that the provisions of Article 2 of protocol 21 apply, which means we are not covered by it.
That brings me to the issue that was raised by Senator McCormack who complained about the fact that we are opting in under Article 3 as opposed to opting in under Article 4. As I have said previously, there is a difference between the two. If we opt in under Article 4, I come to the House once a directive has been agreed and adopted by the EU. All I can say to the House is we can either accept it or leave it and ask whether we want to opt in or not. The benefit of opting in under Article 3 is that we are opting into a proposal. As Senator McDowell mentioned, the large document he has with him is a proposal to amend Directive 2024/1260. If we opt into that proposal, we can at least try to fashion and direct the final legal instrument which will be the directive. There is, therefore, a clear benefit to being a party to the negotiation of the directive as opposed to just standing at the end asking whether we take it or not. That is the reason we adopted in that way. How long do I have?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-06-17/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:04+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-17