January 11, 2021 2:40 pm
Gun owners in Northern Ireland will have to pay out £30 for a new licence should they wish to buy a new ammunition magazine for their firearm.
The licence, which will be introduced by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) for new magazines, will not be applied retrospectively.
‘Using a sledgehammer to crack a nut’
DUP North Antrim MLA and Policing Board representative Mervyn Storey has called on officers to work with licence holders to find a “practical and common-sense solution” to what he described as an “unjustified new tax”.
He said: ‘‘The emergence of this new licensing requirement for additional magazines will understandably be met with dismay by firearm holders across Northern Ireland who are already subject to a great deal of red tape and continue to act in good faith.
A former Stormont Minister has hit out at the PSNI after it introduced a new fee of £30 to be paid by firearms licence holders if they wish to keep an ammunition magazine for their weapon.
DUP North Antrim MLA and Policing Board representative Mervyn Storey said it was an unjustified new tax on magazines of firearms .
The plan has also come in for criticism from TUV leader Jim Allister, who has written to the Chief Constable querying the plan.
Mr Storey said: The emergence of this new licensing requirement for additional magazines will understandably be met with dismay by firearm holders across Northern Ireland who are already subject to a great deal of red tape and continue to act in good faith.