Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 June 2026
410. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if crime statistics for assaults using knives are available for 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46541/26]
View answerThe Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration does not collate or publish crime statistics. That responsibility rests with the Central Statistics Office (CSO), established under the Statistics Act 1993. Under section 13 of the Statistics Act 1993, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) is fully independent in its role of issuing statistics.
Recorded crime statistics are published quarterly and are available from the CSO website at [www.cso.ie/en/statistics/crimeandjustice/].
I can assure the Deputy that the Government is committed to ensuring that communities are safe and tackling knife crime remains an important part of that work.
Ireland has a comprehensive and robust legal framework in place to address knife crime, with penalties for knife-related offences strengthened in recent years. In 2024, legislation increased the maximum penalty for offences including possession of a knife with intent to cause injury, trespassing with a knife and producing a knife to unlawfully intimidate another person from five years to seven years imprisonment. In addition, the Government doubled the maximum penalty for assault causing harm to ten years imprisonment in 2023.
An Garda Síochána's report on Knife Related Crime for 2015-2024 provides detailed analysis of incidents involving the use and/ or possession of a knife. The report shows that assaults causing harm involving a knife accounted for, on average, less than 7% of all assault causing harm incidents over the past decade. The analysis also identified a 40% reduction in robberies involving a knife in retail spaces and a 35% reduction in robberies involving a knife in public spaces since 2020.
The report is publicly available on the Garda website and I am informed by Garda authorities that it will be updated later in 2026. The report can be viewed at the below link:
[www.garda.ie/en/about-us/publications/general-reports/knife-related-crime-2015-to-2024.pdf] .
An Garda Síochána continues to undertake a range of proactive measures to tackle assaults in public places, including those involving knives. This is informed by a pro-arrest, early-investigation and high-visibility policing approach.
Tackling knife crime requires a sustained, evidence-based approach that addresses wider issues such as anti-social behaviour, street violence and youth offending. The Department is supporting this work through youth justice measures and through the establishment of Local Community Safety Partnerships, which bring together a broad range of stakeholders including local communities, youth, education, new and minority communities, the business community and public services and An Garda Síochána to address community safety issues at local level.
The deputy may also be interested to note that An Garda Síochána are currently developing a new Crime Prevention and Reduction Strategy 2026-2029. Knife related crime will be encompassed with all violent crime within this new strategy.
