John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 625: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his plans to introduce an amnesty for the removal of knives here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30745/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, legislation on the use of knives and similar weapons is extremely robust and heavy penalties are already in place. The maximum penalty for possessing a knife in a public place was recently increased from one to five years and the Garda Síochána were also given extended power of search without warrant in relation to knives and offensive weapons. These measures were introduced in the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009.

In tandem with those measures, the importation and sale of samurai swords was also prohibited, though exceptions have been made for collectors and genuine enthusiasts. These measures only came into force last month and it will take time to see the results. While there are no plans at present to introduce an amnesty for knives, the whole area of knives and knife crime is kept under constant review.