Families want set jail term for knife offences

Families of homicide victims are calling for mandatory sentences for unlawful possession of knives after an almost 60% jump in knife murders last year.

Figures provided to the Irish Examiner show that 19 people were murdered with knives or sharp objects in 2014, compared to 12 in 2013.

This figure represents the highest number of such fatalities since 2009, when there were also 19 deaths, and the joint second-highest in recent history.