Increases to maximum sentences for knife crime will mean little without an increase in Gardaí and prison spaces, Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín has warned.
Justice Minister Helen McEntee has today increased the maximum sentences for four knife-related offences with immediate effect.
The maximum sentence for:
- Possession of a knife in a public place with the intention of causing injury, incapacitating or intimidating a person has increased from five years to seven years.
- Trespass with a knife, weapon of offence or other article which has a blade or sharp point has increased from five years to seven years.
- Production of an article capable of inflicting serious injury has increased from five years to seven years.
- The manufacture, importation, sale, hire or loan of prescribed offensive weapons has increased from seven years to 10 years.
In a statement, Minister McEntee said the increases show that the Government “is serious about tackling” knife crime.
“These amendments reflect the true gravity of the offences in question and will ensure that, in the most serious cases, the courts can impose a sanction that fully matches the crime,” she said.
On The Pat Kenny Show this morning, Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín said the changes will mean little without more Gardaí on the street.
“I do welcome the increase in the maximum sentences for knife crime but unless we have enforcement, the law is not going to mean a hill of beans in relation to certain areas,” he said.
He said there has been a “significant increase” in knife crime in recent years – with the number of knives seized by Gardaí up 60% in the past decade.
He said hospital figures also show a spike in knife injuries in Emergency Departments, while there have been many reports of people left living in fear of knife assaults in certain areas.
Justice Minister Helen McEntee speaking to the media at Government Buildings, 7-8-24. Image: Leah Farrell / © RollingNews.ie“This is a very, very serious issue in certain parts of our country and, you know, the Government, I believe, haven't really focused on this up until now.
“The key issue in all of this is enforcement and this goes across the whole criminal justice system.
“You can have all the laws you want, but if you don't enforce this, it's not going to make a difference at all.
“We know on one level that the number of gardaí are significantly falling in this country – every year, Helen McEntee has been Minister for Justice, the number of gardaí has fallen.
“Ireland already has one of the lowest police per capita in the whole of the European Union and that's making it very difficult to police.”
Minimum sentences
The Meath TD said Government should be looking at minimum sentences rather than increasing maximums.
“Maximum sentences sound wonderful,” he said. “They sound very strong and sound very powerful but when you look at it, it doesn't necessarily mean any sentence at all, in reality.
“It could actually mean a suspended sentence - a non-custodial sentence – at the end of the day.”
Prison space
He said the lack of prison space in Ireland is also making it difficult for courts to hand down tougher sentences.
“Like most people, I don't want to see, necessarily, people in prison, but you have to have a final penalty for a criminal activity,” he said.
“I know again locally, there are many criminals that have multiple convictions and never see prison time at all.
“What actually happens there is that gardaí get fed up of picking up those individuals because they're only going to spend time in paperwork, putting them through the justice system for them to walk out again.
“Secondly, the criminals know themselves that they are practically immune to going to jail and in that scenario, there is no deterrent for actions which cause serious harm to people.”
He said the failure to open more prison space in recent years is a “dereliction of the Minister for Justice’s duty to protect society”.
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