Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 536: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of people who have been murdered from 2007 to date in 2008 by way of stabbing. [4570/08]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I am informed by the Garda authorities that in 2007 there were 36 murders and one manslaughter recorded involving a knife or sharp instrument. I am further informed that there has been one murder incident recorded involving a knife or a sharp instrument since the beginning of this year to 7 January. These figures are provisional, operational and liable to change. The Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act 1990 sets out very strict provisions for the control of knives and offensive weapons. The 2008 Policing Plan reflects the intensified efforts by An Garda Síochána to tackle knife crime, including a publicity campaign directed at this problem.