Knife crime in young people
Marie Sherlock highlighted a critically injured teenager, previous stabbings of children, and the broader problem of young people carrying knives. The Minister said knife crime is down overall but acknowledged the issue is complex and partly educational.
As has been said previously, there is a 17-year-old boy in the Mater in a critical condition because of a vicious stabbing on Sunday night. Earlier this year, an 11-year-old was stabbed by another school pupil and the horrible reality across many of our communities is that knife crime and the carrying of knives is very real. Unfortunately, in the communities I represent in the inner city, there is somewhat of a siege mentality among some young men who feel the need to carry a knife. The response to date has been about more gardaí, stop-and-search powers and longer sentences, none of which are really going to address the problem. My question to the Minister regards the antisocial forum set up by the Government in 2020. Where is that now at and is it going to report? The reality is that gardaí are really stretched and with respect to longer sentences, we have an overcrowded prison system. On stop-and-search powers, there was a report commissioned by the Minister's own Government in 2021, which said that such powers are not going to be effective in cutting down on knife crime.
Comment on this
I refer to what I said to Deputy Bacik earlier on in that there was a very informative report published by An Garda Síochána at the end of August, which showed that knife crime is down, knife seizures are up and knife injuries are down. However, that is of cold comfort to the 17-year-old young man who was injured over the weekend and indeed the 11-year-old. This is a more complex problem than simply amending criminal justice legislation.
It is an educational issue. The Deputy is correct, regrettably, when she suggests that some young men think it is necessary for defensive purposes to carry knives. If that happens and a knife is produced, there can be cataclysmic consequences not just for the victim but also for the perpetrator, who may not have intended to use it.
The antisocial behaviour forum was discussed in the Department by me recently. Work is being done on antisocial behaviour. In regard to where the forum is, there will be further engagement with the stakeholders in respect of it. I do not want to give an absolute commitment as to the outcome but there will be further consultation with the stakeholders.