Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Twelve months ago, almost to the day, following a parliamentary exchange between the Minister and me, it was revealed that 13,138 knives had been seized by an Garda Síochána between 2016 and 2022. This is a 78% increase over the seven years. On the one hand, it shows the extraordinary proactivity of An Garda Síochána in managing to seize those knives. On the other hand, it shows that there is a rise in the number of individuals carrying knives who come to the attention of An Garda Síochána. Ultimately these knives are confiscated and become part of the statistics. I completely accept Deputy Ó Ríordáin's point about young people feeling that it is perfectly acceptable for them to do so. I take the point about sentencing, but I think there is merit in the parliamentary question Deputy Ó Ríordáin has put forward regarding an amnesty. There is the potential for the amnesty itself to become the public awareness campaign and therefore end up in the classroom and in universities across the country. It becomes a conversation piece on its own.

See this speech in context