Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act, 1990

JurisdictionIreland
CitationIR No. 12/1990


Number 12 of 1990


FIREARMS AND OFFENSIVE WEAPONS ACT 1990

REVISED

Updated to 27 December 2021


This Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act 1990. It is prepared by the Law Reform Commission in accordance with its function under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975 (3/1975) to keep the law under review and to undertake revision and consolidation of statute law.

All Acts up to and including the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021 (50/2021), enacted 23 December 2021, and all statutory instruments up to and including the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2021 (Commencement) Order 2021 (S.I. No. 777 of 2021), made 21 December 2021, were considered in the preparation of this Revised Act.

Disclaimer: While every care has been taken in the preparation of this Revised Act, the Law Reform Commission can assume no responsibility for and give no guarantees, undertakings or warranties concerning the accuracy, completeness or up to date nature of the information provided and does not accept any liability whatsoever arising from any errors or omissions. Please notify any errors, omissions and comments by email to

revisedacts@lawreform.ie.


Number 12 of 1990


FIREARMS AND OFFENSIVE WEAPONS ACT 1990

REVISED

Updated to 27 December 2021


Introduction

This Revised Act presents the text of the Act as it has been amended since enactment, and preserves the format in which it was first passed.

Related legislation

Firearms Acts 1925 to 2009: this Act is one of a group of Acts included in this collective citation, to be construed together as one (Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 (28/2009), s. 1(2)). The Acts in the group are:

Firearms Act 1925 (17/1925)

Firearms Act 1964 (1/1964)

Firearms Act 1971 (13/1971)

Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act 1990 (12/1990), Part II

Firearms (Firearms Certificates for Non-Residents) Act 2000 (20/2000), other than s. 4

Criminal Justice Act 2006 (26/2006), Part 5 and sch. 1

Criminal Justice Act 2007 (29/2007), Part 6

Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 (28/2009), Part 4

Firearms (Proofing) Act 1968 (20/1968) is excluded from the collective citation from 14 July 2000 by Firearms (Firearms Certificates for Non-Residents) Act 2000, s. 8(2).

Firearms (Temporary Provisions) Act 1998 (32/1998) is excluded from the collective citation from 14 July 2000 by Firearms (Temporary Provisions) Act Continuance Order 1999 (S.I. No. 189 of 1999), art. 2.

European Communities (European Communities (Acquisition and Possession of Weapons and Ammunition) Regulations 1993 (S.I. No. 362 of 1993), as amended, also deal with firearms.

Annotations

This Revised Act is annotated and includes textual and non-textual amendments, statutory instruments made pursuant to the Act and previous affecting provisions.

An explanation of how to read annotations is available at

www.lawreform.ie/annotations.

Material not updated in this revision

Where other legislation is amended by this Act, those amendments may have been superseded by other amendments in other legislation, or the amended legislation may have been repealed or revoked. This information is not represented in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the amended legislation if one is available.

Where legislation or a fragment of legislation is referred to in annotations, changes to this legislation or fragment may not be reflected in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the legislation referred to if one is available.

A list of legislative changes to any Act, and to statutory instruments from 1972, may be found linked from the page of the Act or statutory instrument at

www.irishstatutebook.ie.

Acts which affect or previously affected this revision

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2021(36/2021)

Data Protection Act 2018 (7/2018)

Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 (28/2009)

Criminal Justice Act 2007 (29/2007)

Criminal Justice Act 2006 (26/2006)

Firearms (Firearm Certificates for Non-Residents) Act 2000 (20/2000)

Firearms (Temporary Provisions) Act 1998 (32/1998)

Firearms Act 1971 (13/1971)

Firearms (Proofing) Act 1968 (20/1968)

Firearms Act 1964 (1/1964)

Firearms Act 1925 (17/1925)

All Acts up to and including Maritime Area Planning Act 2021 (50/2021), enacted 23 December 2021, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

Statutory instruments which affect or previously affected this revision

Firearms And Offensive Weapons Act 1990 (Offensive Weapons) (Amendment) Order 2009 (S.I. No. 338 of 2009)

European Communities (Acquisition and Possession of Weapons and Ammunition) Regulations 1993 (S.I. No. 362 of 1993)

Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act 1990 (Offensive Weapons) Order 1991 (S.I. No. 66 of 1991)

Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act, 1990 (Part II) (Commencement) Order 1990 (S.I. No. 313 of 1990)

All statutory instruments up to and including Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2021 (Commencement) Order 2021 (S.I. No. 777 of 2021), made 21 December 2021, were considered in the preparation of this revision.


Number 12 of 1990


FIREARMS AND OFFENSIVE WEAPONS ACT 1990

REVISED

Updated to 27 December 2021


ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS


Acts Referred to

Criminal Law Act, 1976

1976, No. 32

Firearms Act, 1925

1925, No. 17

Firearms Act, 1964

1964, No. 1

Firearms (Proofing) Act, 1968

1968, No. 20

Firearms Act, 1971

1971, No. 13

Prevention of Crimes Act, 1871

1871, c. 112

Vagrancy Act, 1824

1824, c. 83


Number 12 of 1990


FIREARMS AND OFFENSIVE WEAPONS ACT 1990

REVISED

Updated to 27 December 2021


AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE FIREARMS ACTS, 1925 TO 1971, TO CONTROL THE AVAILABILITY AND POSSESSION OF OFFENSIVE WEAPONS AND OTHER ARTICLES AND TO PROVIDE FOR CERTAIN OTHER MATTERS CONNECTED WITH THE MATTERS AFORESAID. [12th June, 1990]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

Annotations

Modifications (not altering text):

C1

Application of collectively cited Firearms Acts 1925 to 1990 extended (9.12.1993) by European Communities (Acquisition and Possession of Weapons and Ammunition) Regulations 1993 (S.I. No. 362 of 1993), regs. 2, 8 and 13(1).

Provisions of Firearms Acts and other Statutes.

8. The provisions of the Firearms Acts and other relevant statutes, including provisions relating to powers of the Garda Síochána and Customs Officers, shall extend to a European Firearms Pass or other document to which these Regulations relate and a reference in those enactments to a firearm certificate shall, where the context so admits, include reference to any such document.

...

Offences.

13. (1) A person who contravenes any provision of these Regulations shall, without prejudice to any liability under the Firearms Acts, be guilty of an offence under these Regulations.

...

PART I

Preliminary

Short title and commencement.

1

1.(1) This Act may be cited as the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act, 1990.

(2) This Act (other than Part II) shall come into operation on the date of its passing.

(3) Part II of this Act shall come into operation on such day or days as may be fixed therefor by order or orders of the Minister either generally or with reference to any particular provision, and different days may be so fixed for different provisions of that Part.

Annotations

Editorial Notes:

E1

Power pursuant to subs. (3) exercised (1.01.1991) by Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act 1990 (Part II) (Commencement) Order 1990 (S.I. No. 313 of 1990).

2. The 1st day of January, 1991 is hereby fixed as the day on which Part II of the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act, 1990 shall come into operation.

Interpretation.

2

2.(1) In this Act “the Minister” means the Minister for Justice.

(2) In this Act a reference to a section is a reference to a section of this Act unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended and a reference to a subsection is a reference to the subsection of the section in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that reference to some other section is intended.

(3) A reference in this Act to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended or adapted by or under any subsequent enactment.

PART II

Amendments to Firearms Acts

Collective citation and construction.

3

3.(1) The Firearms Acts, 1925 to 1971, and this Part may be cited together as the Firearms Acts, 1925 to 1990.

(2) The Firearms Acts, 1925 to 1971 (other than the Firearms (Proofing) Act, 1968) and this Part shall be construed together as one.

Extension of Firearms Acts to crossbows and stun guns.

4

4. F1[]

Annotations

Amendments:

F1

Repealed (1.08.2006) by Criminal Justice Act 2006 (26/2006), s. 63(a), S.I. No. 390 of 2006.

Amendment of section 10 of Firearms Act, 1925.

5

5.The Firearms Act, 1925, is hereby amended by the insertion in section 10 after subsection (3) of the following subsection:

“(3A) (a) A person shall not sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of a firearm or ammunition for a firearm to a person who habitually resides, or to a body at an address, in a country that stands prescribed for the time being for the purposes of this section unless the superintendent of the Garda Síochána of the district in which the firearm or ammunition is kept, being satisfied that the transaction is authorised by the competent authorities of that country, also authorises it.

(b) This subsection is without prejudice to the other provisions of this section and to section 16 of this Act but subsection...

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