James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I commend my colleague, Deputy O'Callaghan, on bringing this important measure before the House. It is part of my party's plans for reforming the criminal justice system. This is one of many important initiatives to have been brought forward by Deputy O'Callaghan during the lifetime of the current Dáil. As he outlined, the introduction of this Bill, which we hope will be enacted and carried forward into the criminal justice system, sends out an important signal that knife crime is unacceptable.

We cannot allow a culture to emerge where it is acceptable or becomes the norm to carry an offensive weapon such as a knife or similar implement because the more knives that are in circulation the more likely it is that they will be used in a fatal crime. It is a vicious circle because the more accidents, injuries and attacks that occur, the more likely it is that people in those circles will begin to carry knives for the purposes of defence. That exacerbates and perpetuates the cycle.

A report in The Irish Timesin April this year claimed that the number of fatal stabbings in the jurisdiction of England and Wales was at an all-time high. Only a third of the way into the year, ten teenagers had already been fatally stabbed in the UK. We can see what is happening across the water and in other jurisdictions, and we do not want the same to happen here. The Bill is a very important signal to send out that knife crime, in particular, is more heinous and something which should be punished appropriately. By elevating the offence and sanction, we are making that clear. We are also making it clear to the Judiciary what we expect in terms of enforcement of these measures.

As I said, this is one of many measures Deputy O'Callaghan has proposed on behalf of my party. Other initiatives in the system are equally important in tackling antisocial behaviours and corrosion and corruption in the community sense, right down to difficult repeat behaviours such as noisy neighbours, harassment, littering and public drinking which corrode a community and society and can be very difficult for a local authority or Garda force to police efficiently and correctly.

There is a financial cost to repeat prosecution. Part of our proposals in that regard will include such things as community protection orders and dispersal orders. Community protection orders could be targeted at repeat offenders at lower levels in order to try to manage very difficult and problematic crimes and antisocial behaviour as it creeps out into communities, estates and public places. These measures will try to put a cap on such behaviour so that the quality of life for all is improved. Many of these measures serve as a signal to others that this behaviour will not be tolerated. Deterrents must be put in place to ensure such behaviour will be punished. I commend the Bill to the House.

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