10 October 2020
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
“This latest stabbing took place in the middle of the day, on a busy Cork Street… We need an increased presence of Gardaí on our streets and a taskforce to deal with knife crime in particular.”
Fianna Fáil TD for Cork North Central, Padraig O’Sullivan, has condemned in the strongest terms, the stabbing that took place on Patrick Street, Cork city Thursday afternoon.
Deputy O’Sullivan said reports that the stabbing occurred around 3.30 in the afternoon when a row broke out between two men outside the Savoy Shopping Centre.
He said, “This latest stabbing took place in the middle of the day, on a busy Cork Street. There were many children coming home from school, as well as, shoppers around the city at this time.
“While it is important to afford Gardaí the space and opportunity to investigate the circumstances of this stabbing, what we know for sure is that depraved violence of this nature has no place whatsoever in our society.
“Unfortunately, the prevalence of knife related violence has continued to intensify. I raised this with the Minister for Justice just last month, asking if there were any new initiatives underway to address the issue. Minister McEntee said that An Garda Síochána are currently operating an Assaults in Public Reduction Strategy 2019-2021, which is targeted at tackling all types of assaults in public.
“This strategy alone is not working. We need an increased presence of Gardaí on our streets and a taskforce to deal with knife crime in particular. It is frightening that the ordinary decent people of Cork are becoming accustomed to knife crime on our streets. There were over 255 knives seized in Cork alone in 2019. The brazenness and willingness of criminals to use knives indicates that this will not end unless there is adequate intervention and further resources provided.
“At this stage I urge anyone with information to get in touch with Gardaí”, concluded Deputy O’Sullivan.