Knife crime - Searches are necessary

Not so many years ago people in Limerick were annoyed over the way the number of stabbings in the city were being highlighted, but these days there have been stabbings in just about anywhere in the country. There were fatal stabbings in Dublin and Blarney over the weekend, as well as two separate stabbings in Tralee.

Last month there was the tragic incident in Bray, in which two young men died and two other people suffered serious injuries in a stabbing incident. This was little over a week after four stabbing attacks in Ballinrobe. A father of three was stabbed to death in Kiltimagh, and Garda Daryl Mullen of the Garda Drugs Unit was seriously wounded when he was stabbed in Westport.

Last year, Mr Justice Paul Carney of the Central Criminal Court imposed heavy sentences on people involved in fatal knife crimes. He felt the sentences should reflect public concern over such crimes, but the Court of Criminal Appeal reduced those sentences significantly.