Call for stiffer fines on gun possession
Heavier fines for possession of guns are urgently needed to make the streets safer, it was claimed today.
Dublin MEP Gay Mitchell said last night’s brutal shooting of a Coolock father in front of his three-year-old daughter horrified him.
He said a new firearms amnesty being planned by Justice Minster Michael McDowell must include heavy fines as a deterrent.
Under current laws, the maximum penalty for possession of an illegal firearm is €635.
Mr Mitchell added: “The shooting of a man in front of his three-year-old daughter in Coolock is a horrifying reminder of how widespread firearms are in Dublin.”
Offences for discharging firearms rose by 27% in the last quarter of 2005, while offences for firearms possession rose by 24%.
“The current penalties for firearms offences are too lax to deter hardened criminals,” Mr Mitchell added.
“Hopefully these new measures will put the fear of God into criminals in Dublin. All law and poor order will not solve the problem.”
The MEP called for the Criminal Justice Bill to be amended and fully implemented to provide the new penalties.
New amendments are expected to cover the modification of firearms such as sawn-off shotguns.
Mandatory minimum prison sentences of between five and 10 years are also being considered for certain firearms offences.
Such offences will include possession of a firearm in suspicious circumstances, possession of a firearm with criminal intent, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life or cause serious injury to property, possession of a firearm while hijacking a vehicle, and use or production of a firearm to resist arrest.
