John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputies Donnelly and Lahart. I compliment Deputy O'Callaghan on bringing forward this important legislation. It is straightforward and specific. The purpose of the Bill is to deter the carrying of knives by increasing from five to ten years the sentence that can be imposed. It is apparent that in recent years the incidence of knives being used in crime has increased significantly. It is disappointing to learn that the CSO does not keep figures on this. That is because of issues it has around the PULSE system whereby it states the data would be inaccurate. While I have a note that clearly shows a number of people who died in Dublin in the past few months as a result of knife attacks, I do not intend putting them on the record of the House. I do not think it is fair to their families. They are known to us and we have read about them in the papers. Predominantly in Dublin, but also in other parts of the country, people have lost their lives in recent months due to serious knife attacks. If we look at the statistics that are available from An Garda Síochána, while they do not measure the crime, the Garda has talked about the knives seized and the figures have increased by about 400 seizures per annum. Deputy Broughan suggested that it might be because there are more gardaí on the streets. I beg to differ. I believe it is because there are more knives in circulation. That is a significant point.

It is my view that this legislation should be fast-tracked. It may not be our party position but it is my own strong position and view that the Bill should be also accompanied by a knife amnesty. The Garda is well aware there is a growing problem. It has established a working group to formulate a national strategy to deal with assaults against the person. An Garda Síochána has included knife crime as part of that work. The working group will monitor the prevalence and frequency of individuals carrying knives or knife-like instruments and will devise a strategy. The Garda is acutely aware of the growing issue of knives and knife crime. This legislation will act with it and it would be timely, in parallel with the legislation, that the Government would give serious consideration to implementing a knife amnesty. There is no point just increasing the penalty without the general population realising that possession of a knife is a serious offence and the sentence will reflect that.

I am also of the strong view that a lot of this is related to gangland crime associated with the drugs business. I do not think the figures will ever reflect what is going on in reality. The reality is that a lot of young people are carrying knives. They are using them in a threatening and menacing way and I do not believe those incidents are always reflected in reports to An Garda Síochána or in the figures the Garda might have on PULSE.

I ask the Minister of State to support this actively and to see if it can be fast-tracked. We do not want to end up in the situation we have seen in the UK, which is worse than here. This Bill, accompanied by an awareness that we have now made this a much more serious offence and by an amnesty on knives to afford those who have them an opportunity to dispose of them through Garda stations, would be a comprehensive package in tackling the scourge of knife crime.

See this speech in context