Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 68: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of persons arrested and charged for knife related crime in Dublin for the years 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 and to date in 2009; the steps the Garda Síochána is taking to tackle knife related crime; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14990/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The Garda Síochána Act 2005 makes provision for the compilation and publication of crime statistics by the Central Statistics Office, as the national statistical agency, and the CSO has established a dedicated unit for this purpose.

I have requested the CSO to provide the statistics sought by the Deputy directly to him.

Though legislation on the use of knives and similar weapons is already very strong and heavy penalties are already in place, I am moving to strengthen the law in this area. In that context, I sought and received proposals from the Garda Commissioner on strengthening the law on knife crime. These include: • increasing the penalties for possessing a knife in a public place; • creating an extended power of search without warrant in certain circumstances; and • the introduction of a prohibition in relation to swords. I have accepted these proposals and the forthcoming Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill will take account of them. Drafting of the Bill has now been completed, and it is intended to publish it shortly. It is my intention that it will be considered by the Oireachtas at the earliest possible opportunity.

In addition, I have directed the drafting of a new Firearms and Offensive Weapons Order which will deal with the issue of swords. In particular, I will be banning the sale of samurai swords.

On 5 February, the Garda Commissioner and I launched a Knife Awareness Campaign by An Garda Síochána with the objective of informing and educating young people in particular on the dangers of carrying knives and with the aim of reducing the number of incidents of knife crime. The campaign is making targeted use of meetings featuring local sports stars and role models, regional media campaigns and on-line media supports.