Minister of State at the Department of Justice, James Browne, established the Firearms Expert Committee (FEC) on a non-statutory basis, in June 2022.

The Firearms Expert Committee included representation from stakeholders, the Department of Justice and An Garda Síochána. The purpose of the FEC was to serve in an advisory capacity to Minister Browne, providing guidance on a wide range of matters related to firearms licensing in the State.

The FEC held nine in-person Committee meetings over a period of nine months.

The final reports of the FEC were published on 31 March 2023. The reports, along with the summaries and minutes of the FEC’s meetings are available on gov.ie.

The FEC reports contain recommendations to the Minister on a wide range of firearms matters, in line with its comprehensive terms of reference. Minister Browne has stated throughout the FEC process that no changes to policy or legislation arising from any of the recommendations of the FEC will be implemented without prior consultation with stakeholders.

With this aim, Minister Browne has now launched an online consultation platform. This will allow stakeholders to indicate their level of support for all of the substantive recommendations of the FEC. This consultation platform is available.

In addition to the online consultation platform Minister Browne will invite national representative organisations to make open submissions to him on behalf of their membership.

Minister Browne would encourage as many people and organisations as possible to participate in the online consultation so that everyone with an interest in these important matters can have their voices heard. The online consultation will close on Friday 2 June 2023.