A former Garda detective says an approach has to be taken to tackle knife crime here, including 'stop and search'.
Pat Marry was speaking following the death of a 25-year-old man in Dublin on Tuesday.
Ademola Giwa died in hospital after being stabbed multiple times during a row at Mac Uilliam Road in Tallaght.
Mr Marry told Newstalk Breakfast knife crime is steadily growing here.
"Knife crime has always existed, and I know in my time as a Guard there was many's a case of stabbings.
"But it appears now, and especially from media, that there's a lot more knife crime and a lot more people dying as a result of the use of knives.
"And like any problem in society it should be addressed and looked at, and if we don't do that it'll just continue on the same path".
He says a lot of victims and perpetrators are young people "anything from maybe 18 to 24 years of age."
"Like everything else it has to be spoken about and brought out into the public domain.
"When you address the issues, a strategy can be put together to tackle it.
"You have to get young people talking about this and the consequences and dangers of carrying knives.
"I believe that, initially, there should be a policy of stop and search".
Stop and search, as implemented in England, means police can stop and question people at any time - they can also search them depending on the situation.
An officer must be in uniform, but if they're not they must show identification.
However Mr Marry says that this can only be done with reasonable cause "and that would be a difficulty.
"But if there is a situation that has arisen that knife crime is a big part of crime at the moment, there has to be changes to the law to provide for the Guards to stop and search.
"It's only one aspect of it".
There have also been calls for a knife amnesty, to get dangerous weapons off the streets.
Mr Marry says this could be useful.
"An amnesty should be a tool to get young people talking about knife crime and the dangers and consequences of carrying knives.
"A person caught with a knife should have to undertake a knife crime awareness course.
"Part of that course should be that these people carrying knives should be confronted by victims and victim's families, and also by persons whose lives have been affected by carrying knives.
"And maybe at that stage, a young person might be allocated a mentor".
But he says anyone caught with a knife after this should get a mandatory two year sentence.
