2.—(1) Subject to the exceptions from this section hereinafter mentioned, it shall not be lawful for any person after the commencement of this Act to have in his possession, use, or carry any firearm or ammunition save in so far as such possession, use, or carriage is authorised by a firearm certificate granted under this Act and for the time being in force.

(2) Save in any of the cases hereinafter excepted from this section, every person who after the commencement of this Act has in his possession, uses, or carries any firearm without holding a firearm certificate therefor or otherwise than as authorised by such certificate, or purchases, uses, has in his possession, or carries any ammunition without holding a firearm certificate therefor or in quantities in excess of those authorised by such certificate, or fails to comply with any condition subject to which a firearm certificate was granted to him, shall be guilty of an offence F7[under this section].

F8[(2A) A person who is guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

(a) in case the firearm is a restricted firearm or the ammunition is restricted ammunition—

(i) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €5,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both, and

(ii) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €20,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years or both,

and

(b) in any other case—

(i) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €2,500 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both, and

(ii) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or both.]

F9[(2B) F10[…]]

(3) This section shall not apply to any of the following cases and such cases are accordingly excepted from this section, that is to say:—

(a) the possession or carriage of a firearm under and in accordance with a permit issued under this Act and for the time being in force;

(b) the possession, use, or carriage of a firearm or ammunition by a member of the Defence Forces of Saorstát Eireann or of a lawful police force in Saorstát Eireann F11[or by a member of the civilian staff of the Garda Síochána, in the performance of] his duty as such member;

F12[(ba) the possession, use, or carriage of a firearm or ammunition by an officer of the Minister assigned to perform functions in Forensic Science Ireland, in the course of the performance by him or her of such functions;]

(c) the possession, use, or carriage of a firearm or ammunition by a registered firearms dealer in the ordinary course of his business as such dealer;

(d) the possession or carriage of a firearm or ammunition in the ordinary course of business by a person engaged in the business of carrying or of warehousing goods for reward;

(e) the possession of a firearm or ammunition on board a ship as part of the equipment of the ship;

(f) the carriage for sporting purposes only of a firearm or ammunition under instructions from and for the use of the holder of a firearm certificate for such firearm or ammunition;

(g) the possession, carriage, or use of a humane killer F13[or ammunition therefor] in the ordinary course of business by a butcher, slaughterman, knacker, or other person engaged in the business of the humane slaughter of animals.

(4) This section shall not apply to any of the following cases and such cases are accordingly excepted from this section, that is to say:

(a) the possession, use or carriage of a firearm or ammunition by an employee of a registered firearms dealer in the ordinary course of business of the dealer as a firearms dealer,

(b) the possession or carriage of a firearm or ammunition by an employee of a person engaged in the business of carrying or of warehousing goods for reward in the ordinary course of such business,

(c) the possession or carriage of a firearm or ammunition for purposes of sale by an auctioneer who stands authorised under section 13 of F15[the Firearms Act 1964] or by an employee of such an auctioneer in the ordinary course of business as an auctioneer,

F16[(d) the possession, use or carriage of a firearm or ammunition during a competition or target practice at a club, shooting range or any other place that stands authorised under this section or section 4A of this Act],

(e) the possession, use or carriage of a firearm (other than a shot-gun) of a calibre not exceeding .23 inches or of ammunition by a person operating a range or shooting gallery in an amusement hall or at a fun fair, carnival or other like event for the purposes of the range or shooting gallery who stands authorised in that behalf under this section or by a person using such range or shooting gallery,

(f) the possession, use or carriage of a firearm or ammunition by a person taking part in a theatrical performance or rehearsal or in the production of a cinematograph film for the purpose of the performance, rehearsal or production, being a performance, rehearsal or production the person in charge of which stands authorised in that behalf under this section,

F17[(g) the possession, use or carriage of a firearm, within the meaning of paragraph (h) of section 1, or of ammunition therefor for the purpose of being used as a starting gun or blank firing gun by a person who stands authorised in that behalf under this section, ]

(h) the possession, use or carriage of a firearm or blank ammunition provided by the Minister for Defence by a person taking part in a ceremony of any kind for the purposes of the ceremony, being a person who stands authorised in that behalf under this section.

F18[(i) the possession, use, or carriage of a firearm or ammunition in the course of his duties by an officer of the Institute for Industrial Research and Standards charged with the operation of facilities for proofing firearms provided or procured by that Institute under the Firearms (Proofing) Act, 1968.]

F19[(j) the possession or carriage of a firearm or ammunition by a person, or the employee of a person, authorised under section 10(4A) of this Act,

(k) the possession, use or carriage of a firearm or ammunition for the purpose of bird control at an airport by an employee or agent of the airport authority who stands authorised in that behalf under this section.]

(5) (a) The Superintendent of any district may authorise in writing the possession, use or carriage of firearms or ammunition in that district in any of the circumstances specified in paragraphs (d), (e), (f), (g) F20[, (h)] F21[, (j) or (k)] of subsection (4) of this section F22[, or of any component parts of a firearm,] during such period, not exceeding one year, as may be specified in the authorisation.

(b) A Superintendent shall not grant an authorisation under this section unless he is satisfied having regard to all the circumstances (including the provision made or to be made for the storage of the firearms and ammunition to which the authorisation (if granted) would relate and the supervision of their use) that the possession, use or carriage, as the case may be, of firearms or ammunition in pursuance of the authorisation will not endanger the public safety or the peace.

(c) Where it is proposed to grant an authorisation under this section in respect of a F23[…] club or a range or other place referred to in paragraph (d) of subsection 4 of this section, the authorisation shall be granted to an officer of the club nominated by the club or to the person in charge of the range or other place as the case may be, and where there is a contravention of a condition imposed in relation to the grant of such an authorisation and the contravention is proved to have been committed with the consent or approval of or to have been facilitated by any neglect on the part of the person to whom the authorisation is granted, that person shall be guilty of an offence under this Act.

(d) A Superintendent may impose in relation to the grant of an authorisation under this section such conditions (if any) as he considers necessary to prevent danger to the public and, where a condition is imposed, it shall be specified in the authorisation.

(e) An authorisation under this section may be revoked at any time by the Superintendent of the district in which it is granted.

(f) A person who contravenes a condition imposed in relation to the grant of an authorisation under this section shall be guilty of an offence under this Act.

F24[(6) In subsections (3)(g) and (4) (other than paragraphs F25[…] (i) and (k)), references to a firearm or ammunition do not include references to a restricted firearm or restricted ammunition.]

F26[(7) The superintendent of any district may authorise the Board of the National Museum in writing to possess for a specified period F27[(which, in the case of a firearm classified in Category A of the Directive, shall not exceed 5 years)] a firearm that is a museum heritage object within the meaning of the National Cultural Institutions Act 1997.]