Pyro Licences - Northern Ireland

[paulears]

Some may remember that last year I came quite close to being in serious trouble with the Police in Northern Ireland because we were using (as we had done for many, many years) bog standard theatrical pyros, sourced from LeMaitre. It turned out that the Law in Northern Ireland is completely different, and dating back to the troubles, pyrotechnics are in the same category as other types of explosives. I didn't have a licence, and had far too much stored. Again, over Christmas deliveries are terrible, so we were over the NEQ limit by a fair way for a few days. To make it worse, once you have explosives in your control, without a licence, then you have also imported them illegally too. A real mess, but the new Police Officer holding the 'Explosives Officer' role was quite reasonable and we did get it sorted eventually, but all the parties involved - venue, production company and supplier all got a rap across the knuckles. We really should have known that the law over there was different, but we didn't!

 

The licence application form, if anyone is touring over there does not mention pyrotechnics - it's simply entitled:

 

EXPLOSIVES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1970

APPLICATION FOR CONSENT TO PURCHASE OR ACQUIRE EXPLOSIVES FOR PURPOSES OTHER THAN BLASTING

 

This is the form that needs completing to be legal over there, and has a 14 day minimum before the items are purchased. Anyone doing a quick show needs to consider this. There is a special dispensation that can be applied for for a very short date show period. So if it's just one or two shows, they will probably NOT require you to get the licence. It seems that the issue is simply holding explosives in stock, not so much what they are, or what they are for. A one or two night arena show with huge quantities of pyro being used each night would almost certainly not require a licence, but you have to ask. A week certainly would, and a week touring to different venues might or might not.

 

If you are thinking about taking pyros to NI, it is best to check first, and do not risk it. Remember they still have armed police with armoured Landrovers, so this is not something to wing. The officer running the system isn't at all concerned about the explosive qualities of pyro, as his day job is dealing with the far more troublesome stuff - but the rules for one apply to it all!

 

I have attached a blank form if anyone needs it.

Pyro licence application.pdf