Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Last year, there were more than 140 seizures of knives, shivs and other such weapons in Cork, up from 130 the previous year. I understand incidence may be down this year but nonetheless the trend in serious incidents of knife crime is obvious. Does the Minister of State have access to figures for this year for the number of crimes committed using a knife and the number of incidents where a knife has been seized, both in Cork and nationally? Will the Minister of State also clarify the Government's position on minimum mandatory sentencing or if the Government intends to increase the maximum sentence for crimes perpetrated with knives?

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