§ Mr. William Rossasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons in Northern Ireland now hold firearms certificates; and of these how many are in respect of (a) shotguns only, (b) rifles only and (c) handguns only.
§ Mr. Scott[pursuant to his reply, 12 June 1985, c. 479]: On 1 June 1985, 86,039 persons in Northern Ireland held firearm certificates. The remaining information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. William Rossasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons in each year since 1 January 1969 are known to have been killed by a legally-held weapon that had been stolen from its owner; in each case what kind of weapon was used; and in each year how many persons were murdered by shooting by a terrorist organisation.
§ Mr. Scott[pursuant to his reply, 12 June 1985, c. 480]: Whilst it is not possible to be certain of the circumstances in every case, the number of persons believed to have been shot dead by members of terrorist organisations in each year since 1 January 1969 is given in the following table. The additional information sought is not readily available from existing records and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Number of persons shot dead by terrorists Year Deaths 1969 5 1970 9 1971 71 1972 252 1973 138 1974 139 1975 162 1976 186 1977 82 1978 43 1979 66 1980 47 1981 62 1982 44 1983 44 1984 31 Total 1,381