The High Court has refused Turlough Tracey leave to seek judicial review of a decision refusing licences for two firearms, finding that he did not use the available District Court appeal and had not shown an arguable basis for bypassing it.
In a judgment delivered on 25 March 2025, Ms Justice Marguerite Bolger considered Tracey’s on-notice application for leave and the substantive issues together. The decision he sought to challenge was made by a Chief Superintendent on 28 January 2022 and received by Tracey on 1 February that year. It refused his applications, made on 12 February 2021, on public safety grounds, citing his failure to provide contact details for people to whom he said he had given his dogs after a reported incident involving a neighbour.
Tracey argued that the Chief Superintendent acted outside his authority and gave inadequate or unlawful reasons. He said he no longer remembered the details and that the information sought did not relate to public safety. The court noted that he had applied for leave about seven weeks beyond the deadline. The respondent withdrew its objection to the delay after Tracey raised dyslexia, subject to an affidavit confirming his diagnosis. The GP report he later submitted recorded what Tracey had told the GP; the judge said it did not verify a diagnosis. She nevertheless considered his account of filing difficulties and assessed the underlying challenge when deciding whether to extend time.
The court held that Tracey had an effective and more appropriate remedy: an appeal to the District Court under section 15A of the Firearms Act 1925. That appeal could allow the court to confirm the refusal, direct the issuing authority to reconsider it, or allow the appeal. The judge found no arguable case of a fundamental denial of fair procedures or lack of jurisdiction that would justify proceeding by judicial review instead.
The judgment also recounted the earlier history relevant to the 2022 decision. Gardaí had seized Tracey’s previously held firearms after investigating an anonymous complaint that his two dogs had been shot. The accounts recorded in Garda statements and Tracey’s later statements about what happened differed. The Chief Superintendent refused earlier licence applications in 2019 on public safety grounds; Tracey’s statutory appeal against that refusal was unsuccessful.
The judge said the judicial review challenge was neither strong nor compelling and refused leave. She expressed an indicative view that the respondent should receive its costs. Final orders, including costs, were scheduled for further submissions on 3 April 2025. The judgment does not record a final costs order.