The tribe won
In a massive victory for common sense, Justice Minister Naomi Long officially withdrew the highly controversial public consultation on firearms licensing fees in Northern Ireland just days before it was due to close.
The proposed changes would have seen the cost of a firearm certificate grant or renewal skyrocket from £98 to £250, a move that shooting, farming and rural organisations rightly called an unfair and disproportionate attack on the sport.
The sudden, dramatic U-turn came directly after intense, coordinated pushback from the shooting community. The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) launched immediate legal proceedings against the Department of Justice, serving a Pre-Action Protocol letter that shook the flawed consultation to its core. Alongside Countryside Alliance Ireland and the Ulster Farmers’ Union, the community made it known loud and clear that shooters would not be used to blindly plug financial holes caused by state inefficiency.
Game over at Committee stage
When Department of Justice officials and the PSNI appeared before the Stormont Justice Committee, the game was already up.
Under intense pressure, officials conceded that public confidence had been completely lost. They openly admitted that they had failed to publish vital supporting evidence – including their time-and-motion studies – and acknowledged they should have engaged with stakeholders before dropping the proposals on the table.
This is an incredible reminder of what happens when the shooting community stands strong and united. By refusing to back down, our tribe protected 54,000 certificate holders across Northern Ireland from being unfairly taxed.
It's not over yet
However, while the consultation has been axed the underlying structural issues haven’t gone away.
The Department of Justice still wants to achieve “full cost recovery” and has confirmed it plans to return with a brand-new consultation down the line.
When they do return, the landscape will look completely different. We’ll be keeping a close eye on the discussions to ensure that any future proposals prioritise a transparent, efficient and genuinely accountable licensing process.
Shooters are happy to pay a fair price for a premium service, but we will never accept paying double for a broken system.
The first round goes to the shooters. Well shot everyone.
