F3[30.— The following section is substituted for section 3 of the Principal Act:

"Applications for, and form and effect of, firearm certificates.

3.— (1) Application for a firearm certificate (other than a restricted firearm certificate) shall be made to the Superintendent of the Garda Síochána of the district in which the applicant resides.

(2) Application for a restricted firearm certificate shall be made to the Commissioner.

(3) The application shall be in the prescribed form, and if the applicant intends to use the firearm to hunt and kill exempted wild mammals within the meaning of the Wildlife Act 1976 (other than hares), be accompanied by a current licence to do so under section 29(1) of that Act.

(4) The applicant shall supply in writing any further information that the Superintendent or the Commissioner may require in the performance of his or her functions under this section.

(5) A firearm certificate shall be in the prescribed form and, subject to subsection (6) of this section, shall authorise the person to whom it is granted—

(a) to possess, use and carry the firearm specified in the certificate,

(b) to purchase ammunition for use in the firearm, and

(c) at any one time to possess or carry not more than the amount of ammunition specified in the certificate.

(6) Where the firearm is a shot-gun, the firearm certificate may, subject to subsection (11) of this section, authorise it to be used only for killing animals or birds other than protected wild animals or protected wild birds within the meaning of the Wildlife Act 1976 by the holder of the certificate either (as may be expressed in the certificate)—

(a) on land occupied by the holder, or

(b) on land occupied by another person.

(7) A firearm certificate which is in force, other than a relevant firearm certificate continued in force under section 3(3) of this Act, as amended by section 28 of the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, shall continue in force for a period of 3 years from the date on which it was granted, unless revoked, and for any further such period for which it may be renewed.

(8) The holder of a firearm certificate may apply for renewal of the certificate within three months before it ceases to be in force.

(9) A decision on an application for a firearm certificate or its renewal shall be given within 3 months from the date on which the applicant submitted a completed application form.

(10) Where the application is refused, the applicant shall be informed in writing of the refusal and the reason for it.

(11) The following provisions have effect in relation to a certificate in the form referred to in subsection (6) of this section (in this subsection referred to as a “limited certificate”):

(a) a limited certificate relating to land occupied by a person other than the applicant for the certificate shall not be granted unless the occupier of the land has given the applicant a nomination in writing for holding the certificate;

(b) a limited certificate relating to any land shall not be granted in respect of any period if there is a limited certificate relating to the land already in force in respect of that period;

(c) a limited certificate shall not be granted unless the whole of the land to which it would relate is occupied by the same person;

(d) where a nomination referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection is revoked, the limited certificate to which it related, if then in force, shall not be capable of being renewed.

(12) A firearm in respect of which a firearm certificate is granted shall be marked in the prescribed manner with a number or other prescribed identifying mark, and the number or mark shall be entered on the certificate.

(13) A person who—

(a) knowingly gives false or misleading information to an issuing person in relation to an application for a firearm certificate or for its renewal,

(b) forges a document purporting to be a firearm certificate or uses or knowingly possesses it, or

(c) with intent to deceive, uses or alters a firearm certificate or uses a firearm certificate so altered, is guilty of an offence and liable—

(i) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €2,500 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both, or

(ii) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €20,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or both.

(14) Subsection (13) of this section is without prejudice to Part 4 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001.

(15) Section 12 (limited use of shot-gun) of the Firearms Act 1964 is repealed."]