No amount of new laws on knife crime will address problems if there are not enough Gardaí on the streets – Matt Carthy TD

Sinn Féin spokesperson on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Matt Carthy TD, has welcomed the recognition by the Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan that there is an issue in relation to knife crime but questioned on what basis the Minister now states that new legislation is needed when just last weekend he was talking up recent government knife crime legislation.

Deputy Carthy said that no amount of tough laws would have an impact unless the Gardaí were on the ground to enforce those laws.

Teachta Carthy said

“Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald raised concerns with Taoiseach Micheál Martin in the Dáil on Tuesday regarding the fact that people do not feel safe in Dublin City. She highlighted the growing problem of knife crime.

“I welcome the fact that the Justice Minister now recognises that there is an issue in relation to knife crime that must be addressed.

“However, there was no acknowledgment from the Taoiseach in the Dáil or from the Minister for Justice on the media over the weekend that there were any gaps in terms of powers needed by Gardaí to police knife crime. Both the Taoiseach and the Minister pointed to the increased penalties for knife crime brought in by the previous Minister for Justice as the solution to the growing problem of knife crime.

“It is important that Minister O’Callaghan now explains what difficulties he is aware of that the Gardaí are facing in dealing with knife crime or the carrying of knives.

“Currently if a Garda has reasonable ground to suspect that a person has committed an offence, which under the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act 1990 includes having a knife or other article which has a blade or which is sharply pointed in a public place, that person is guilty of an offence, and they can be stopped and searched.

“So, the Minister should be clear what problems an Garda Síochána are currently facing in policing the carrying of knives under existing legislation? And, how long has this been identified as an issue? Did Gardaí, including the Garda Commissioner, raise this with him and if so when?

“Sinn Féin will approach any proposal to address knife crime in a constructive manner. However, the reality is that no amount of tougher laws on carrying knives will have a meaningful impact unless the lack of Gardaí on the ground, on the beat in our communities and on our streets is addressed. We need to increase Garda visibility as a matter of urgency.”