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Don't cut and Paste press statements into the forum, provide a link
OLYMPIC SHOOTERS RIPPED OFF BY DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Don't cut and Paste press statements into the forum, provide a link
Just received:
A meeting between the NARGC's Des Crofton and Dept. of Justice officials (in the Dept) concluded half an hour ago (12.30) with the following result:
The proposed increase in Licence Fees has been abandoned.
Department Officials are now of the opinion that the proposed fee was "UNSUSTAINABLE"
Firearms Certs will be renewed in the normal way at the current rate on July 31st 2007 for 1 year.
The 3-year licence will come into operation in 2008.
The fee for the 3-year licence will be set, only following consultation with the NARGC.
The above is nothing less than a clear victory. Two other interesting points emerged from the meeting.
1. The Department has staff working flat out to answer the exceptionally high number of Parliamentary Questions put down in the Dail by so many T.D.'s about the proposed increase. Brendan Howlin TD was to the fore in this.
2. The Department is concerned at the large number (72) of Judicial Reviews that have been granted by the High Court in Firearms Licence cases, against Garda Superintendents nationwide. In relation to the High Court actions Des Crofton pointed out to the meeting that "the only way to cure a headache is to stop banging your head against the wall".
Complete cave in from McDowell. How did he get it so wrong in the first place? By not talking to the people involved because he knows best...
So your gun licence fee went from €38/annum to €56/annum and you now get a licence for 3 years instead of 1?
Freedom, Tolerance & Equality of Opportunity
Economic Left/Right: -1.25
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -1.33
No, it went from €38 per year to €170 for three years, which is a 50% hike in the per-annum rate.Originally Posted by Munion
Unless you were a junior looking to get a training licence, then you had to pay €340 because you needed two licences - one to train on and one for your parent/guardian to actually own the firearm.
And that training licence only lasted for two years.
And, just for the record, we receive no goods or services of any kind for the licence fee, unlike (say) your driving licence, your passport, your TV license, even your dog license.
Plus, the cost of administering the paperwork fell by 66%. (Okay, our solution would have reduced it by 92%, but hey, Gardai gotta fill out forms, right?)
Currently:No, it went from €38 per year to €170 for three years, which is a 50% hike in the per-annum rate.
Unless you were a junior looking to get a training licence, then you had to pay €340 because you needed two licences - one to train on and one for your parent/guardian to actually own the firearm.
And that training licence only lasted for two years.
And, just for the record, we receive no goods or services of any kind for the licence fee, unlike (say) your driving licence, your passport, your TV license, even your dog license.
Plus, the cost of administering the paperwork fell by 66%. (Okay, our solution would have reduced it by 92%, but hey, Gardai gotta fill out forms, right?)
€38 for 1 year = €38/year
Proposed:
€170 for 3 years = €56/year
I know for your purposes it's best to portray it as a 50% increase in your annual licence as "Gun Licences to increase by €18/year" wouldn't garner much support.
I assume it's one licence per gun and most shooters would own multiple guns so I could see how it could be a reasonably large increase for an avid collector.
I'm just curious in case i'm asked about it on the doorstep. Also i'm not stupid enough to piss off a load of people who all wield guns
Freedom, Tolerance & Equality of Opportunity
Economic Left/Right: -1.25
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -1.33
Nice spin there.
Did you miss the bit about how we don't get anything for the licence fee and thus inflation isn't really a viable excuse for the hike? Or did you miss the bit about how the cost of administering the entire system just fell to about 33% of it's previous amount?
Avid collector? Sorry, you're mistaking us for collectors. We're athletes. It's an olympic sport. And yes, we have several firearms - there are several events. I have three myself for 10m Men's Air Rifle, 10m Men's Air Pistol, 50m Men's Prone Rifle and 50m Men's Three-Position Rifle. That's 4 of 15 Olympic events, and I would be a bit more focussed than most. My bill, by the way, would have been €510.I assume it's one licence per gun and most shooters would own multiple guns so I could see how it could be a reasonably large increase for an avid collector.
*sigh*I'm just curious in case i'm asked about it on the doorstep. Also i'm not stupid enough to piss off a load of people who all wield guns
Look, seriously, if you don't want to annoy your potential voters, don't make that joke again. It's funny once, maybe twice. But I've been shooting for 14 years. Want to guess how often I've heard it? Or how often I've heard the one about the Irish team winning the Olympic medal, but refusing it because they'd have to take off their masks?
Want to guess how much it gets under your skin after a decade?
Want to guess how much it gets under your skin the day after the Irish Examiner runs a front-page piece which is one long collection of lies, one after the other, from "senior garda sources", effectively saying that we're all a bunch of nutters walking around with loaded military sidearms?
I mean, if you want to lose our vote, there are faster ways to do it, but not many.
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