Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Clearly, the message that needs to go out is that this crime will not be tolerated. Of course, there are very serious individual incidents of the kind described by Deputy Collins, for which heavy sentences have been imposed where such cases were brought to court. At present, the law allows for mandatory sentences where those cases, for example, have resulted in the murder of an individual. I share Deputy Collins's view about such crime. There have been strong public information and awareness campaigns over the years. Indeed, that is something An Garda Síochána could consider further, because we need to continue to get the message out about the approach to this type of crime, how unacceptable it is, and the dangers of carrying a knife in a public place where persons may use them when provoked.

Deputy Niall Collins mentioned mandatory sentencing on a number of occasions. A considerable amount of work has been done on that, both in Ireland and internationally. As the Deputy will be well aware, the comprehensive review of penal policy which was carried out by an expert group, the independence and expertise of which would be recognised by everyone, did not recommend any further mandatory sentencing. I note mandatory sentencing is a key part of the Deputy's approach, but all of the evidence that has been presented to me is that it is not an effective way of dealing with crime, except in very limited circumstances which we have provided for already.

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