The number of knives seized every year by gardaí has risen by more than 50 per cent on the figure a decade ago, new data shows.
More than 2,150 knives were seized last year, Garda figures show.
A murder investigation is continuing into the fatal stabbing of a man on South Anne Street in Dublin city centre.
Quam Babatunde (34), an asylum applicant from Nigeria, lived at the Ballyogan international protection accommodation centre in South Dublin, having moved there from Citywest accommodation centre last year.
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Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said the violence witnessed in the capital was “unacceptable” and “disgusting” and he said gardaí were making “very good progress” in terms of identifying those involved.
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Mr O’Callaghan said a number of people got into a row in a nightclub and this continued on the street, culminating in the fatal incident early on Saturday.
A second man, also in his 30s, was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, gardaí said.
New figures from An Garda Síochána show the Dublin region has recorded the largest number of knives seized over recent years. There were 1,050 seized across the division last year, up from 620 in 2015.
Across the country, the number of knives seized rose from 1,362 to 2,157 (up 58 per cent) between 2015 and 2024.
The highest number of knives seized over the period was in 2020 when gardaí confiscated 2,260. There were 1,835 knives seized in 2021, a total of 2,163 the following year and 2,193 in 2023.
Mr O’Callaghan said he was aware there was “shocking” footage on social media showing a man with a knife charging back and forth across the street during Saturday’s incident.
“Carrying knives and acts of violence on the street are not acceptable in Ireland and nor will they ever be acceptable,” he said.
Mr O’Callaghan acknowledged there were parts of Dublin that were unsafe at certain times of day, while gardaí visibility on the streets needed to be encouraged.
The Garda figures show increases in knife seizures in all regions across the State between 2015 and 2024.
There was a 70 per cent rise in the north-western region (from 197 to 334) and in the southern region (from 259 to 441).
A spokeswoman for the Department of Children and Integration, which manages the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS), said: “The Department is aware of the stabbing incident that took place in Dublin on Saturday morning and that the victim was in the international protection system. It is not appropriate for the department to comment further during a live investigation.”
