Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the Members who contributed to the debate. It has been very beneficial. I note what the Minister of State said and some of his suggestions. We will give consideration to what he said. It is appropriate that the legislation is not steamrolled through but we will give it consideration when it comes before the Committee on Justice and Equality.

Many Members spoke about the fact that there is a deficiency in our statistics. We need to look at that. It would be beneficial if we had accurate information on the use of knives in assaults, which at present we do not have.

The Minister of State referred to sections 10 and 11 of the 1990 Act and said there may be an anomaly if the offences under those sections were left with penalties of up to five years and we were to increase the penalty for knife crime to up to ten years. We can look at that and would be happy to take the Minister of State's comments on board by also amending the penalties for the offences under sections 10 and 11 of the 1990 Act.

A number of colleagues spoke about the necessity to send out a message that this is a deterrent to people carrying knives. That is an important contribution.

A number of colleagues spoke about a knife amnesty. I think this would be a good idea, but if there is to be an amnesty for something, there must be a more severe deterrent for people who do not abide by or avail of the amnesty. This is why I think, as Deputy Curran said, this legislation would be very useful if accompanied by an amnesty. The two elements would probably compliment each other.

I am conscious that my colleagues from the Rural Independent Group mentioned that people sometimes need to carry knives for a lawful purpose. I fully accept that. The purpose of this legislation is to deal with a specific crime, which is the carrying of a knife for the purpose of inflicting damage and harm on another person. The legislation would, therefore, not apply to the circumstances Deputy Michael Healy-Rae mentioned when he talked about the fisherman who would need to carry a knife. Obviously, such a person is not affected by this legislation in the slightest.

I thank Members for their contributions. They reflect a concern in our society about the growing levels of assault and what we hear anecdotally about the increased use of knives.

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