Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act 1990
Possession, sale, etc., of silencers.
7.—(1) A person shall be guilty of an offence if he has in his possession or sells or transfers to another person a silencer unless the possession, sale or transfer is authorised in writing by the superintendent of the district in which the first-mentioned person resides.
(2) A superintendent shall not grant an authorisation under this section unless he is satisfied that the person who is to have possession of the silencer or to whom it is to be sold or transferred is the holder of a firearm certificate for a firearm to which the silencer can be fitted and that—
(a) having regard to all the circumstances, the possession, sale or transfer concerned will not endanger the public safety or the peace, and
(b) the person has a special need that is, in the opinion of the superintendent, sufficient to justify the granting of the authorisation for the silencer.
(3) The superintendent of the district where the holder of an authorisation under this section resides may, at any time, attach to the authorisation such conditions as he considers necessary for the purpose of preventing danger to the public or to the peace or of ensuring that the silencer is used only to satisfy the special need for which the authorisation was granted.
(4) An authorisation under this section may be granted for such period not exceeding one year as is specified in the authorisation and may be revoked by the superintendent of the district where its holder resides.
(5) A person who contravenes a condition attached to an authorisation under this section shall be guilty of an offence.
(6) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—
(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding F3[€5,000] or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both, or
(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding F3[7 years] or to both.
(7) This section does not apply in relation to a person specified in paragraph (b), (c) or (d) of subsection (3) of section 2 of the Firearms Act, 1925, or paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (4) (inserted by the Firearms Act, 1964) of that section.
(8) In this section—
“silencer” means a silencer specified in F4[paragraph (g)(ii) of the definition of “firearm” in section 1(1) of the Principal Act];
“superintendent” means a superintendent of the Garda Síochána.
Annotations
Amendments:
F3
Substituted (1.08.2006) by Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act 1990 (12/1990), s. 8A as inserted by Criminal Justice Act 2006 (26/2006), s. 64 and sch. 1, S.I. No. 390 of 2006. A fine of €5,000 translates into a class A fine, not greater than €5,000, as provided (4.01.2011) by Fines Act 2010 (8/2010), ss. 3, 4(3) and table ref. no. 1, S.I. No. 662 of 2010.
F4
Substituted (1.08.2006) by Criminal Justice Act 2006 (26/2006), s. 63(c), S.I. No. 390 of 2006.
Editorial Notes:
E2
Offences under section designated serious offences by Bail Act 1997 (16/1997), s. 1 and sch. paras. 16(a), 29 and 30; as substituted (18.05.2007) by Criminal Justice Act 2007 (29/2007), s. 17(b), S.I. No. 236 of 2007.