Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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484. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the figures for knife crime convictions for each of the years 2017 to 2024, inclusive, in tabular form. [9014/25]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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485. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if any report or investigation into knife crime has been commissioned or supplied to his Department; and if so, by whom; and on what date. [9015/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 484 and 485 together.

It is important to note that the term knife crime covers a broad range of offences, as knives can be used in the commission of a wide range of offences, ranging from theft and intimidation, to serious and fatal assaults and murder.

There are no quick-fix solutions to tackling knife crime. Long term, evidence-based strategies are needed that address knife crime as part of a wider strategic response to anti-social behaviour, street violence, youth offending and domestic violence.

In 2021 Maynooth University conducted a rapid evidence review, commissioned by my Department, to aid in policy formulation in this area. The report examined the different types of way that knife crime could be measured (for example, using police data, hospital admissions data, etc), risk factors that are associated with individuals having a greater risk of being involved in knife crime, and a review of the effectiveness of different interventions.

There is already a comprehensive and robust legal framework in place in Ireland with respect to knife crime, including heavy penalties for breaches of the laws concerned with the maximum penalty for possessing a knife in a public place, without good reason or lawful authority, of five years.

The Courts, Civil Law, Criminal Law and Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024 was signed into law on 23 of July 2024. Part 9 of this Act, which increases the penalties for certain offences under the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act 1990, was commenced on 30 September 2024. The maximum penalty for the offences of possession of a knife with the intention of unlawfully intimidating or injuring another person, trespassing with a knife, and producing a knife while committing or appearing to be about to commit an offence increased from 5 years to 7 years imprisonment. The maximum penalty for the offence of manufacturing, importing, selling, hiring or lending offensive weapons increased from 7 years to 10 years.

The Government also doubled the maximum penalty for ‘assault causing harm’ under section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 from 5 to 10 years of imprisonment in 2023. While the more serious offence of ‘causing serious harm’ under section 4 of that Act already carries a potential life sentence, many assaults, including those involving knives, are prosecuted at a lower level. This increase ensures that courts have the necessary sentencing powers to reflect the severity and impact of such crimes.

Additionally, An Garda Síochána's Analysis Service published an analysis of knife crime data in February 2021, which is available on the Garda website at the following link:

I am advised that an updated analysis report is due to be published in the coming months by An Garda Síochána.

With regards to your request for figures for knife crime convictions, that is a matter for the courts. Management of the courts, operational matters and logistical functions are the responsibility of the judiciary and Courts Service, which are independent in exercising their functions under the Courts Service Act 1998 and given the separation of powers in the Constitution. The Minister has no role in these matters. The Courts Service has a dedicated email address for the provision of information to members of the Houses of the Oireachtas: .

To be of assistance I have referred that part of the Deputy's question to the Courts Service for a direct response.