Camillus Glynn (Fianna Fail)

The Supreme Court ruling must send a shiver down the spine of every parent the length and breadth of this country. I strongly support what Senator Brian Hayes said, as must all right-thinking people. This House has taken the lead in the past in tackling urgent matters and no Member would object to sitting at any time, even on a Sunday and with the shortest possible notice, to address the issue in an appropriate way. Time is not on our side but I read in the newspapers that people on the sex offenders' register would probably apply to have their names removed as a result of the judgment, which is a worrying prospect. It will give those twisted people who abuse young boys and girls a pretext under which to claim they did not knowingly break the law.

I call on the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to come to the House for a debate on knife crime, which is creating a serious problem across the water and is common in this State. Knife crime is as prevalent as gun crime, which we have already debated, and hardly a week passes without a number of knife murders. It is time for appropriate action to be taken. I have previously called for equipment to be installed in night clubs and discotheques to detect offensive weapons on persons, which is not being done at the moment, and for random searches on suspects. The number of people who die from knife attacks is unacceptable.