Arms and the men: Ulster's arsenal

nThe official security forces amount to 31,000 people (12,500 regular Army, 13,000 Royal Ulster Constabulary, 5,500 Royal Irish Regiment) to which may be added 3,000 police support staff, 3,000 prison officers and 3,000 members of the Territorial Army.

nThere are 130,000 legally held firearms. Each year there are 3,000 applications for new certificates. There are 41 firearms clubs, 38 firing ranges, and 140 registered firearms dealers.

nIn the course of the Troubles, more than 40,000 people passed through the ranks of the now-defunct Ulster Defence Regiment. There are several thousand more former police officers and ex-servicemen of various types. A quick sum shows that, in this state of a million and a half people, something approaching 100,000 carry guns or have been officially trained in their use.

nAs for illegal weapons, the IRA has perhaps 1,000 rifles, mostly Kalashnikovs supplied by Libya in the mid-1980s, as well as a formidable collection of modern heavy weaponry and explosives. Loyalist paramilitary groups possess hundreds of weapons, mainly handguns and rifles.

nUnknown thousands of people have passed through the paramilitary ranks: during the Troubles, more than 16,000 people have been charged with terrorist offences.

nThe ability of both republicans and loyalist groups to acquire material may be judged from the fact that over the years the security forces have seized 11,000 firearms, more than 100 tons of explosives and well over a million rounds of ammunition. In other words, even if all the guns were handed in, both sides know how to acquire more from abroad.