Mr. John D. TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if a resident of Great Britain may join a rifle or pistol club in Northern Ireland; if such a person 385W may apply to have a firearms certificate in Northern Ireland on the basis of his firearm being kept in a rifle club premises with approved security facilities; and if she will make a statement. [40757]
§ Mr. IngramA resident of Great Britain may apply to join any firearms club in Northern Ireland. Membership is a matter for individual clubs to decide.
The firearms legislation provides that residents of Great Britain can apply to the Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary for a Northern Ireland firearm certificate. When considering such applications the Chief Constable must satisfy himself that the normal legislative criteria for the grant of a certificate are met. These criteria comprise matters of suitability, good reason and public safety, including arrangements for the secure storage of firearms.
Mr. John D. TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps a member of a licensed gun club in Northern Ireland wishing to carry his licensed firearm through other parts of the United Kingdom to compete abroad in competitions would be required to take; and if she will make a statement about the movement of licensed firearms for sporting competitions. [41142]
§ Mr. IngramUnder the Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 (Amendment) Regulations 1992, which implemented the requirements of EU Directive No. 91/447/EEC (on the control of the acquisition and possession of weapons) a resident of Northern Ireland wishing to take his legally held firearm to a EU country must first obtain a European Firearms Pass from the Chief Constable of the RUC. Persons travelling to a non-EU country should write in advance to the country of destination to ensure they satisfy the licensing requirements of that country.
In Great Britain target pistols are prohibited weapons and as such their possession requires specific authority from either the Home Secretary or the Secretary of State for Scotland as appropriate under section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968. I understand that such authority would not normally be granted to private individuals, including those who wished simply to travel through Great Britain. In the absence of an authority, target pistols would be expected to be transported by carriers holding the appropriate authority under section 5 of the 1968 Act.
Year UDA/UFF UVF LVF PIRA INLA 1998 3 years 1 month 3 years 8 months — 7 years 4 months 4 years 6 months 1999 4 years 9 months 4 years 6 months 2 years 7 years 8 months 4 years 6 months 2000 6 years 8 months 6 years 2 months 3 years 6 months 7 years 8 months 8 years 2001 7 years 6 months 7 years 5 months 6 years 9 months 9 years 6 months 4 years 6 months 2002 6 years 10 months 8 years 5 months 7 years 8 months 9 years 9 months — 2003 — 7 years — 10 years 6 months — 2004 — — — 12 years 3 months 12 years 6 months 2005 12 years 6 months — — 11 years 8 months 13 months 2006 — — — 12 years — 2007 — — — 15 years — Note:
The data in the table relate to those persons convicted of scheduled offences and sentenced to three years or more who were in custody in Maze on 26 January 1998. The complete record was not available for a small number of prisoners when the research on which this table is based was carried out and so the table does not include data on average years served for that small group.