FIREARMS (AMENDMENT) (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1979 (Hansard, 19 July 1979)

§ Lord ELTON

My Lords, I beg to move that the draft Firearms (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 1979 be 1578 approved. Noble Lords may recall that the firearms law operating in Northern Ireland was last amended in 1975. Since then use of the legislation has drawn attention to a number of points where further updating would be desirable. The present draft order has been prepared as a result. It was published on 7th November and copies were sent to interested organisations including the Shooting Federation for Northern Ireland and the Joint Shooting Committee for Northern Ireland. Their comments have been received and have been taken into account in preparing the draft before your Lordships.

There is one further point which makes the present a particularly suitable moment to tidy up Northern Ireland firearms law. It is hoped fairly soon to introduce a Bill consolidating legislation in this field. As noble Lords will know, consolidating legislation follows its own procedure and cannot be amended during passage. If the consolidating Act is to retain its coherence for a reasonable period it is therefore important that any amendments which are needed should be incorporated into the law before the consolidating Bill comes forward.

The provisions of this order are somewhat diverse in character. The most important concerns the importation of firearms into Northern Ireland by short-term visitors from abroad. At present if a sportsman from another country wishes to shoot in Northern Ireland he must, however short his stay, obtain a full three-year certificate at a cost of £14. The Government have long felt this to be an undesirable burden on the potential tourist. We want as many foreign visitors as possible to visit Northern Ireland. The draft order therefore provides that persons resident outside the United Kingdom may if they wish, and if they satisfy certain conditions, obtain a firearm certificate valid for one month only. In response to representations made by interested bodies, arrangements will be made for this certificate to he available free of charge. It will still be open to them to obtain a three-year certificate at the normal cost if this meets their requirements better. This provision is outlined in Article 4.

A second change is incorporated in Article 5. This will allow the chief constable to issue permits to registered firearms dealers permitting them to sell 1579 ammunition at particular places on specific occasions away from their normal places of business. At present, dealers may do business only at the places in respect of which they are registered. This means that they cannot sell ammunition at shoots or similar events where participants may need more ammunition than in fact they are entitled to hold at any one time.

Owners of licensed firearms, other than shotguns, are already required by S.39A of the Firearms Act of 1969, to submit them on request for ballistic testing. Article 6 of the order makes it an offence for them to refuse to do so. Under Article 9, persons resident in Great Britain who possess air weapons without holding firearm certificates (as they are entitled to do) will be permitted to bring those air weapons to Northern Ireland without having to obtain Northern Ireland firearm certificates. The Secretary of State, will however, be empowered to require approval for such importation in a different form. It is his intention to do so, again at no cost to the applicant. In Northern Ireland, air weapons must be authorised by firearm certificates so that at present the owner of an air weapon in Great Britain who wishes to bring the weapon to Northern Ireland must first obtain a Northern Ireland firearm certificate, again at a cost of £14. This was not intended and the order rectifies that position.

The other provisions are of a more or less minor nature. They will have no effect on the actual operation of firearms control. They clarify the right of the Police Authority for Northern Ireland to purchase weapons on behalf of the police, remove our dependence on an Act passed in 1819 for the control of firearms clubs, and make the chief constable clearly responsible for all aspects of firearms control.

The order also supplies a definition of the term " indictable offence ". This was rendered necessary by the reliance of the Act of 1969 upon existing legislation—the Magistrates' Court Act (Northern Ireland) 1964—in which no such definition was incorporated. Although there was no requirement for such a definition in the 1964 Act its absence proved to be a deficiency in the 1969 Act and it is the purpose of this article to remedy that 1580 deficiency. The general aim of all these articles is to remove ambiguity and render terminology precise.

My Lords, the need for firearms control in Northern Ireland goes without saying. Legislation must however be kept clear, concise and in tune with changing circumstances. That is the purpose of this order and of the consolidating Bill to follow. I commend the order for your Lordships' approval, and I beg to move.