Increased penalties for knife offenses come into force from today – The Irish Times

Prison sentences for a range of knife offenses will be increased from today under legislation introduced in response to the increase in knife attacks and knife possession in recent years.

The maximum penalty for four offenses involving bladed weapons is to be increased. Possessing a knife in a public place with intent to cause injury and intimidation carries a maximum penalty of seven years instead of five years.

The maximum sentence for trespassing with a knife and producing a knife capable of causing serious injury will also be increased from five to seven years.

Convictions for “manufacturing, importing, selling, renting or lending” assault weapons will be punished with a maximum sentence of ten years instead of the previous seven.

“These changes reflect the true seriousness of the offenses in question and will ensure that, in the most serious cases, courts can impose a sanction that fully reflects the crime,” said Justice Secretary Helen McEntee.

She said the stricter sentencing provisions are a result of recent increases in maximum penalties for assault, conspiracy to commit murder and battery on a peace officer.

Tougher penalties for knife crime were one of the recommendations of the knife crime subgroup of the Expert Forum on Antisocial Behavior, chaired by Minister of State James Browne.

Mr Browne said the Government had taken into account the public’s concerns about knife crime.

“A series of extremely serious and in some cases fatal knife attacks have led to a significant increase in public concern about the criminal possession and use of knives in recent years,” he said. “The Government has listened to the public’s concerns and these legislative changes aim to ensure offenders are punished appropriately and the use of knives in crime is reduced.”

Mr Browne said the changes would “send the message that the offenses in question constitute completely unacceptable behavior in our society”.