§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many hand gun target shooters in Northern Ireland have been(a) granted a new firearms certificate and (b) granted a variation on a replacement weapon, in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years.
§ Mr. Cope[holding answer 13 November 1989]: The Chief Constable of the RUC has informed me that the information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many pistols held on firearms certificates in Northern Ireland are of a type and specification which are used for target shooting in(a) smallbore and (b) fullbore; and what were the numbers five and 10 years ago.
§ Mr. Cope[holding answer 13 November 1989]: The Chief Constable of the RUC has informed me that the number of pistols and revolvers held on firearm certificates is:
Type At 31 October 1989 At 31 December 1984 Smallbore pistols/revolvers 468 478 Fullbore pistols/revolvers 509 471 No information is available to show the position at 31 December 1979.