Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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699. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if the previous Dáil’s knife crime sub-group of the expert forum on anti-social behaviour, raised any issues in relation to the stop and search powers of Gardaí with respect to knife crime; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16745/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I strongly condemn the use of knives to threaten, intimidate or harm others. The Government is committed to ensuring that the problems that we have seen in neighbouring jurisdictions do not repeat themselves here.

The knife-crime sub-group of the Anti-social Behaviour Forum considered many options. In 2021 the Department commissioned a report from Maynooth University entitled Evidence Review on Knife Crime, which examined a number of interventions, including stop and search powers within other jurisdictions, some of which, including those available in the UK, are wider in scope than stop and search powers available in this jurisdiction. The report found that intensive stop and search practice yields a very low ‘hit rate' and that there is limited evidence of its effectiveness in reducing knife crime. The report found that there was no statistically significant reductions in crime as a result of these interventions, and that increased use of stop-and-search powers has huge potential to create resentment and has been recognised as having detrimental effects on community relations with the police.

The Forum did not make any recommendations relating to the scope or use of stop and search powers.