I propose to take Questions Nos. 563, 565, 567, 568, 589, 591 and 602 together.
I can advise the Deputies that the final meeting of the Firearms Expert Committee (FEC) took place on 3 March 2023, and that the Committee has now finalised its reports. I understand that the reports will be submitted to me imminently and it is my intention to publish them shortly after this, along with the minutes of its meetings. The role of the FEC was to make recommendations to me for subsequent consideration. As I have emphasised throughout the process, any proposed changes to policy or legislation arising from any of the recommendations by the Committee will of course be subject to prior consultation with firearms stakeholders.
I can further advise the Deputies the FEC was made up of five members: an independent Chairperson, a representative of An Garda Síochána, a representative of the Department of Justice, and two non-governmental Ordinary Members having experience of firearms. This structure was chosen to give balanced representation to both governmental and non-governmental stakeholders.
On 31 March, 2022, expressions of interest were sought from suitably qualified candidates for appointment to the FEC. The documentation in this regard, which included the Committee’s Terms of Reference, was published on the Department of Justice’s website and shared with various stakeholder organisations. The call for expressions of interest was administered by officials from the Criminal Justice Policy Function of the Department of Justice which also acted as the Secretariat to the FEC. Appointment to the FEC was conducted in line with the process advised in the expressions of interest document. As was advised therein, the Ordinary Members of the FEC were appointed on a personal basis only and not as formal representatives of a particular body or group. I would point out, however, that both of the Ordinary Members appointed are Registered Firearms Dealers and are, or have been, members of national firearms organisations.
On this basis, and as the FEC has now finalised its reports, I will not be revisiting the composition of the committee.