27.— Section 2 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2A):

“(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.”,

(b) by the deletion of subsection (2B),

(c) in subsection (4)—

(i) by the deletion, in paragraph (c), of “this Act” and the insertion of “the Firearms Act 1964”,

(ii) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (d):

“(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”,

and

(iii) by the substitution of the following paragraphs for paragraph (j):

“(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.”,

(d) in subsection (5)(a), by the deletion of “or (h)” and the insertion of “, (h) or (j)”,

(e) in subsection (5)(c), by the deletion of “rifle or other gun”, and

(f) by the addition of the following subsection:

“(6) In subsections (3)(g) and (4) (other than paragraphs (d), (i) and (k)), references to a firearm or ammunition do not include references to a restricted firearm or restricted ammunition.”.