James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy O'Callaghan for bringing forward the Bill, which aims to increase the penalty for the carrying of a knife for criminal purposes. Knife crime is a serious and growing crime. The message needs to go out from here that the carrying of a knife for criminal purposes is not acceptable and that anyone who does so will suffer the consequences. There is a serious culture of knife crime in the UK and, regrettably, there is a growing culture here too, albeit only beginning. The UK experience is that knife crime is contagious: when some people begin to carry knives, others feel they need to carry them as well. This is why this culture needs to be stopped now. Young people must be turned away from crime through early intervention with appropriate supports. For young people we need a meaningful public health approach that can address knife crime and its causes. UK research highlights that young people who use knives often believe they are carrying knives for self-defence purposes. They fear being the victim of bullying or attacks. Very often, however, such a situation ends up in tragic circumstances for others and for themselves. Whatever the reason, there must be no tolerance of knife crime.

This Fianna Fáil Bill, which increases the penalty for knife crime from five years to ten years, will send out a very strong message but will not solve the problem alone. The greatest deterrent is not the length of a sentence but the belief that one will be caught. The problem today is that many criminals do not fear being caught. This is why we need to see more community policing, more boots on the ground and an increased Garda presence on the streets and in our housing estates. People are entitled to feel safe in their homes, in their places of work and while out and about doing their business. Increasingly, they do not feel safe. Young people are often afraid to go out; older people are afraid to stay in. Let us all work together to make people feel safer.

I will finish by highlighting the victims of knife violence. We need to think about victim support for those who are the subjects of attacks and those who witness attacks. The scars of a knife attack, both physical and mental, can stay for a very long time - long after the assault, long after any court case and long after the perpetrator has served any sentence.

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