Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 180: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his views on the increase in the number of stabbing offences; and if he has proposals for dealing with same. [19310/07]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The number of stabbing offences is a matter of concern to all right thinking persons. The Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act, 1990 sets out very strict provisions for the control of flick knives and offensive weapons. The Act makes it an offence for any person, irrespective of age, to possess any knife or any other article which has a blade or which is sharply pointed in any public place, without good reason or lawful authority; trespass with a knife or any article made for causing injury to or incapacitating a person, or produce any article, capable of inflicting serious injury, in a manner likely to intimidate another person in the course of committing an offence or appearing to be about to commit an offence or in the course of a dispute or fight. Any person found guilty of such offences is liable on conviction to a fine of up to €1,270 or imprisonment for a term of up to five years or both. A person found guilty of murder through stabbing or otherwise is liable to the highest possible penalty of a mandatory penalty of life imprisonment. The legislative provisions dealing with offensive weapons and any other measures which might be taken to counteract this problem are kept under constant review by my Department.

Prior to the commencement of the new sentences for a range of firearms offences provided for in the Criminal Justice Act 2006, an amnesty was granted for persons who were in possession of firearms and offensive weapons, including knives, to dispose of them. While law enforcement has a crucial role in dealing with the problem of knife crime, changing patterns of recreational activity and the misuse of alcohol are but two of the many socio-economic factors influencing rates of interpersonal violence which also have to be addressed. Enforcement of the provisions of the legislation is a priority for An Garda Síochána. The resources available to the Gardaí have increased dramatically in recent years and is enabling this to take place. There are currently 14,476 Gardaí (both attested Gardaí and recruits in training). Furthermore, the Programme for Government has a commitment to increase Garda numbers to 15,000 by 2010 and 16,000 by 2012.

The Garda Vote in 2007 is €1.4 billion, an increase of 11% on 2006. The Programme for Government also contains commitments to combat serious crime such as knife crime, and I have asked my Department, in consultation with the relevant agencies, to draw up proposals for taking forward their implementation as quickly as possible.