Grassroots
Countryside Alliance Ireland
Welcome to the first edition of Countryside Alliance Ireland’s
‘Grassroots’. We are delighted to feature articles from a
variety of contributors which we hope you will enjoy and find
interesting.
The past few months have kept the team at CAI busy; not only
with our administrative and lobbying duties but November
also saw the relocation of the NI office. We were pleased to
have a smooth transition and have settled in well to our new
premises.
Firearms Licensing
The main issue for our members continues to centre on
firearms licensing; this being the case for both NI and the
Republic. We have been very active in this regard and
have engaged extensively with the relevant government
departments and representatives.
On 29 April we attended a meeting hosted by the Justice
Minister, Frances Fitzgerald, in Dublin. The purpose of
the meeting was to engage with key stakeholders to outline
the Interim Report and to discuss the firearms licensing
recommendations contained therein. We reiterated our
recommendation that a centralised licensing system should
be established which would help end the inconsistent
approach that we currently see. In addition, CAI supported
the act of ballistic testing for all short firearms but insisted
the cost should be borne by An Garda Síochána, as it is in NI
by the PSNI. The Minister will now consider what has been
voiced and discuss with her officials on the way forward.
In NI, we have also met with various government officials
and at the time of going to press we are scheduled to present
evidence to the Justice Committee at Stormont on 28 May.
We sincerely hope the ongoing impasse can be mitigated.
Unfortunately, it seems to be a never ending round of to’ing
and fro’ing with no positive result or benefit when all we are
asking for is a fair and just firearms licensing system that will
work for all parties. CAI together with other like minded
organisations, has made recommendations to the PSNI and
Justice Department based on sound, reasonable evidence
and facts but to no avail as yet. We are, however, thankful
to the political representatives who have shown their
unswerving support for us in respect of these issues.
We shall await with avid interest any developments and as
always, will keep you updated via our website, facebook
page, twitter and eroutes.
Informing Politicians
The Alliance Party in NI have once again shown their
contempt for our rural way of life by tabling a Private
Members Motion which categorises the use of wild animals
in circuses with hunting, snares and the use of electronic
dog collars. In response we have written to all MLAs
asking them to vote against this Motion should it ever
arise. In our correspondence, we included some additional
information on wildlife management methods, in the hope
that some of our political representatives might become
more educated and informed in matters they may not have
dealt with before. We also sent this information to all of
the Councillors in the newly formed council areas; many of
whom may go on to become MLAs in the future.
We cannot expect all of our political representatives to be
experts in the field of country sports and vermin control
and therefore our aim was to hopefully offer information
that was useful and to open lines of communication for the
future.
Membership
CAI membership numbers continue to prosper and we are
thankful for your continued support.
We are very mindful that in these times of austerity everyone
has to control their expenditure wisely and we are pleased
to have been able to keep our membership subscriptions at
the same rate as last year. We strive to bring you the most
competitive, unrivalled and comprehensive membership
insurance package available and hope you have found your
dealings with the CAI team to be courteous and professional
at all times.
Whilst we could not survive without our members’
subscriptions to help fund the work of CAI, we are also
extremely grateful for your emails and social media interaction
Summer 2015
GRASSROOTS
Foreword
by Lyall
Plant, Chief
Executive,
Countryside
Alliance
Ireland