The National Association of Regional Game Councils (NARGC) has criticised what it claimed was a lack of engagement by government on a key vote in the EU last week on lead shot.

The vote came under the Regulation on the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals (REACH).

The REACH Committee advises the European Commission on changes to this regulation, and is made up of one representative from each member state.

The committee voted to ban the use of gunshot containing more than 1% lead for hunting or outdoor sports shooting.

The transition period away from lead shot had been proposed to be three years, but following amendments, this period has been extended out to seven years.

It is understood that the restrictions will not apply to bullet ammunition.

According to the NARGC, 17 member state representatives voted in favour of the ban, with five voting against and five abstaining.

The NARGC claimed that, due to a "lack of engagement" from the Department Enterprise, Trade and Employment (whose junior minister, Alan Dillon, has responsibility for the REACH regulation in Ireland) and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), the hunters' group was "completely unaware" of what position the government took on the changes to the rules.

The group also said it was unaware if the impact of this new rule on Irish hunters and gun owners was "adequately communicated" to the European Commission.

"The total failure to engage with stakeholders on this issue calls into question how seriously government departments take stakeholder engagement," the group claimed.

The group said that it would not have known what took place in the REACH committee last Thursday (June 25) had it not been for its colleagues in FACE, the EU-wide group that represents gun owners.

Dan Curley, the chairperson of the NARGC, claimed that the passing of the new restrictions on lead shot without stakeholder engagement "represented a new low in implementing law in a fair, transparent and proportionate way".

According to the NARGC, the banning of both the use and importation of lead shot will "pose significant challenges" for the 150,000 licenced firearm owners in Ireland.

According to the organisation, most of the firearms owned by Irish gun owners were designed for lead shot and may not be capable of safely discharging available alternatives.

The issues, the NARGC said, is compounded by a lack of a proof house in Ireland for testing firearms and ammunition, meaning alternative ammunition types cannot be tested here.

The group called on Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris to intervene directly and establish a taskforce involving all relevant stakeholders to prepare for the implementation of the new restrictions.

It is believed that proposed changes will be adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU without too much scrutiny, given the amendments that have already been made to the proposal, such as the extension of the implementation period from three years to seven.

One of the reasons for implementing the new rules is concerns that birds could ingest lead pellets.

However, the NARGC claimed that this rationale "was not sufficiently robust from the outset and should have been subjected to greater scrutiny", citing figures showing an apparent low incidence rate of lead pellets being found in duck gizzard samples.