Control of Firearms Seanad Éireann — 2026-07-02 ============================================================ Catherine Ardagh (FF), Dublin South-Central I thank the Senator for his kind remarks at the outset. I thank him for raising the issue today. Firearms are now one of my delegated responsibilities. While the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration is the competent authority for the importation and exportation of firearms and the licensing of firearms dealers, An Garda Síochána, as the Senator knows, has a range of functions with regard to the operation of firearms legislation, including the issuing of firearm certificates and authorisations, and is the competent authority for the licensing of firearms within the State. The Firearms Acts 1925 to 2023 and the Firearms (Firearm Certificates for Non-Residents) Act 2000 both give the authority for granting licences to superintendents and chief superintendents of An Garda Síochána. Licensing officers, when considering firearms licence applications, are considered personae designatae and cannot have their decision-making fettered in any way. Neither the Department nor I have a role in the issuing, or otherwise, of firearms licences. I note the Senator’s comments on inconsistencies in the implementation and administration of firearms licensing. He mentioned a stakeholder engagement meeting where certain comments were out of order. I cannot confirm or deny that because I was not present at the meetings. Nevertheless, I am advised that reform of the firearms licensing system has been under consideration for a number of years, as the Senator well knows and has highlighted. Extensive consultation has been undertaken and is continuing, and there is regular and structured engagement between the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration and firearms users. I am informed that the most recent engagement took place on 28 April 2026, and more than 20 representatives of the firearms community and firearms stakeholder organisations attended a meeting with officials. This was the fourth in a series of meetings that have taken place since 18 September 2025. I understand there will be further engagement with me personally and the Department. The stakeholders attending these meetings include several from representative organisations, experts in technical areas of firearms and members of An Garda Síochána’s firearms policy unit. I am informed that reform of the current licensing system is one of the issues being discussed at the meetings. The administration surrounding firearms licensing is very complex, as the Senator is probably very well aware. It is governed by both national and European legislation to which each member state must adhere. Diligent consideration must be given to the potential ramifications of any contemplated change. Accordingly, this process is incremental. It is intended to continue the proactive and open engagement that has taken place thus far. A consultation phase is due to commence in the coming months with official firearms representative organisations to discuss the findings of recent engagements. I thank the Senator again and look forward to working with him on this matter going forward. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-07-02/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:09+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-07-02