Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this really important matter today. I would like to extend my sympathies to the family of Aaron Keating and anybody who has been affected by knife crime. Any kind of death is devastating but when somebody is murdered in this way, it has a ripple effect throughout the entire community. It is important to note, and the Senator touched on this, that for the most part, Ireland is a very safe country. Our crime rates are low compared to other similar jurisdictions. The Senator mentioned that evidence shows that assaults are down. That is across the country. There are many crime statistics showing that particular types of crime are down and the confiscation of knives is up. I am very conscious of the way knife crime has gone in the UK and aim to ensure this does not take hold here. When it comes to knife crime, the concern is often is that this is a weapon that is readily available. People talk about having an amnesty or trying to take knives out of the system but when you have a weapon that is in the kitchen of every home across the country, it is a challenge we need to deal with by way of education and making sure An Garda Síochána has the resources and young people are educated at a very early age to know that this is not the route they should go down.

We need a comprehensive and robust legal framework with respect to knife crime that makes sure there are heavy penalties for those who take that path. The maximum penalty under the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act for conviction for possessing a knife in a public place without good reason or lawful authority was increased from one year to five years, so you can get five years for simply possessing a knife, which is quite a severe penalty but a correct one. We are increasing the maximum sentence for assault causing harm from five to ten years. Again, this is correct. At the moment, when a person harms another person and the victim makes a full recovery, by the time you add up the various different measures that must be taken, the offender might serve very little time for what is a very serious crime.

Knife crime is not classified in crime statistics compiled by An Garda Síochána. This is because knives may be used in the commission of many different types of offence ranging from threats and intimidation, robbery and theft to serious assaults and murder. As a result, there are no quick-fix solutions to which we can point. Long-term, evidence-based strategies are needed to tackle this as part of a wider response to antisocial behaviour, street violence, youth offending and domestic violence as, unfortunately, knives are used in the vast majority of homicides inside the home.

I am committed to bringing all of this together be it specific to knife crime, looking at antisocial behaviour, looking at youth justice interventions, looking at education and looking at how we can support An Garda Síochána. The Senator mentioned Garda numbers. It is frustrating for everybody that we had started to get a good flow of numbers coming out of Templemore after it being closed for so many years. Covid hit and that obviously put a stop to it and the numbers began to slow down again. After two very successful recruitment campaigns, the numbers are increasing every intake. The next intake will be on 31 July and there will be a following intake in October.That will continue as long as it needs to in order to get all the numbers up.

I know that in the area mentioned by the Senator there has been an increase in Garda numbers. It has gone from 688 to 706 in recent years. Obviously, we would like to see that number being much higher because, as the Senator rightly said, it is not the gardaí chasing from scene to scene or going from one incident to the next, but those who are on the ground, in the community, linking in with young people and talking to and getting to know them, which is often the biggest deterrent in these instances and which very much helps a community come together.

That is my number one priority. Just this week I met with the Garda Commissioner to discuss Garda numbers and to ensure we have gardaí on the street trying to deal with the issues the Senator mentioned. That is and will continue to be my priority.