THE KILLING spree undertaken by 43-year-old Thomas Hamilton in the small Scottish town of Dunblane could not, realistically, have been prevented. But here in Ireland the laws governing the use of firearms are among the strictest in Europe.
The weapons which Hamilton used to gun down 16 children and their teacher are banned in the Republic. The use of all handguns and automatic weapons was outlawed in the early 1970s as result of the Troubles.
There are 195,000 firearms certificates held in the State. Most are held by farmers for the protection of stock and crops. Of this figure, 18 per cent of the certificates are for the use of rifles, 82 per cent for shotguns. About 250 deer-hunters are licensed to use .270 calibre rifles. Higher calibre weapons are banned here, except for the Defence Forces and gardai.
In Northern Ireland there are 133,769 legally held firearms, including 85,186 shotguns.
Strict guidelines are set down for the issuing of licences in this State. Only Garda superintendents can give firearms certificates. An applicant must be over the age of 16 and must be able to demonstrate to gardai the need for a firearm.
Persons of intemperate habits or unsound mind need not apply. A person who has a court conviction where a firearm was used, or where an offence took place which included assault, is not eligible. A person who is the subject of Garda supervision or bound to the peace cannot get a certificate.
The vetting procedure takes up to two months. Local gardai will first check out the application.
Mr Des Crofton, the Director of the National Association for Regional Game Councils (an umbrella organisation for over 875 gun clubs, with membership of 22,000) says the Irish legislation is the most rigorous in Europe.
A friend recently went to get a licence and was refused because he was going through separation proceedings. His estranged wife went to the superintendent to explain that they had been living apart for several years, that there was no animosity between them and that she didn't feel in the least bit threatened. But he still turned it down, saying that separation was a tense time.
"The laws are very strict. But you can not legislate for what happened in Scotland. Guns are not really the issue. If someone snaps like that they will use whatever is at hand to kill people. They could drive a car into a bus queue.
"What happened was horrible. There are no answers to something like that," Mr Crofton said.