The sale of certain fireworks should be legalised and controlled. The past decade has seen an enormous increase in the use of illegal fireworks at Hallowe'en. The night skies over our cities and towns are lit up by exploding rockets. Some old people are virtual prisoners in their homes. And family pets have been driven to distraction by exploding bangers.
Large sections of the public regard the law as outdated and irrelevant. And the Garda Síochána has the thankless task of enforcing the terms of the Explosives Act of 1875.
Two weeks ago, the new Garda Commissioner, Noel Conroy, was urged by the Oireachtas Committee on Justice and Equality to crack down on fireworks. Rather than address the change in public attitudes on the issue and suggest specific changes in the law to the Minister for Justice, the committee took the easy option. In response, the commissioner promised to target local suppliers. Serious issues are involved here.
Irish criminal elements are making very large amounts of money from the importation and sale of illegal - and frequently sub-standard - fireworks. Profits go to fund their other illegal activities. Some of those involved are known cigarette-smugglers. A cross-over may exist into the drugs trade.
Apart from funding criminal activities, fireworks can cause dreadful damage to young people and scar them for life. An exploding banger can mangle a child's hand. And doctors and nurses in the accident and emergency wards of our hospitals have to deal with the damage all too frequently. The need to ban or to regulate the sale of such materials, and to encourage parental supervision when they are used, is urgent.
There is simply no prospect of enforcing the law as it stands. There are massive illegal sales in this State, while legal traders have positioned vast containers, crammed with fireworks, just north of the Border. And, judging by the queue of Southern-registered cars on the road to Newry, last weekend, there is no shortage of eager buyers. As a control mechanism, the Border hardly exists. The sale of fireworks is licensed in Northern Ireland. But bangers are illegal there. In spite of that - and because of the huge profits involved - a thriving trade in bangers and sub-standard fireworks still exists. Major seizures have been made by the police there. Any change in our law should reflect the situation in the North. The licensing of most fireworks here would divert revenue away from criminals. And because dangerous bangers are the source of most public concern, concerted efforts could then be made to eliminate that trade.