The maximum penalties for four knife-related offences have been raised by a commencement order issued by Minister of Justice Helen McEntee.
With the new legislation, carrying a knife in public with the intent to harm, maim, or threaten someone carries a maximum term of seven years instead of five.
The maximum punishment for producing any article capable of causing serious damage has also risen from five to seven years, as has the maximum term for trespassing with a knife or other anything having a blade or sharp point.
Anyone discovered to be producing, importing, selling, employing, or lending such dangerous weapons might face a seven-to ten-year sentence increase in the meantime.
Speaking during the announcement of the modifications, Ms. McEntee described knife offences as “serious criminal offences, which can have far reaching and devastating consequences.”
According to her, “knives and other offensive weapons off our streets” would be made more easier by the hikes in maximum punishments.
“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,” Ms McEntee continued.
The Department of Justice’s State Minister James Browne chairs the expert forum on anti-social conduct, and his knife crime sub-group made suggestions that were implemented.
Mr. Browne praised the modifications, claiming that they were the result of public outcry.
He said: “The Government has listened to the public’s concerns and these changes in the law are aimed at ensuring that offenders are appropriately punished and that the use of knives in crime is reduced,” reports RTE.
He added: “These increases in the maximum sentences will send the message that the offences in question are wholly unacceptable behaviour in our society,” reports RTE.
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