Northern Ireland’s justice committee has called for an urgent rethink of the proposals to raise firearms licensing fees.
Plans have been made by the department of justice to increase the individual fee to £100, and the dealers’ fee to £300 – three-times the original price. These proposals are just an interim measure, and fees could increase after a further cost review in 18 months’ time.
There were disagreements to the interim proposals, however, at the Stormont debate on Wednesday; Paul Givan, justice committee chairman, opposed the interim measures and demanded a working group be set up now, to work with the stakeholders immediately.
BASC‘s Tommy Mayne spoke up about the intervention, he said the organisation was “very grateful” and went on to say: “Thank you to the all-party group on country sports for their patience and understanding over the past year. The group is very much aware of the difficulties faced by shooters and the gun trade.”
BASC also said it would continue to work closely with the justice committee and the department to ensure fair firearms fees were implemented in Northern Ireland.
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