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Statement by Joe Costello  -

Firearms Consultative Panel representative notice.

I represent the SSAI on the shooters panel of the Firearms Consultative Panel and  as such I bear responsibility for the vast majority of target shooters in Ireland.

In the early days of the  Firearms Consultative Panel  much was discussed and co-operated on, however for a long period of time, in spite of calls to convene a meeting to discuss matters of great importance, no shooting panel meeting has been called.

The last meeting of the Shooters panel was in Early December 2008.

The past 12 month period has seen the most radical changes to many aspects of our shooting sports.

The whole transformation of the licensing system has come about without a panel meeting.

Even our appointment with the Minister for Justice was not preceded or followed by a meeting.  No cohesive strategy was discussed, no pooling of resources, no advice sought.

 I have continued to strive to obtain the best deal possible for all target shooters and have constantly over this time liaised with both the Department of Justice and the Gardaí on their behalf.  Good progress has been made on many issues and it is an evolving process.

It is important therefore to note that announcements in the media purporting to be made with the consent of the  Firearms Consultative Panel or on behalf of the  Firearms Consultative Panel , or creating the impression that some form of consensus has been arrived at by the shooting panel are false.

No actions have been approved by or are the result of consultation and agreement with the SSAI representative. Indeed some of the views expressed and actions taken apparently on behalf of the Shooters Panel and  Firearms Consultative Panel, are in my opinion potentially damaging to both good working relationships we have established and our sports of target shooting.

Joe Costello

Chairman SSAI – FCP representative

This statement is a personal statement from Joe Costello and does not

necessarily represent the views of the NGB's within the SSAI