Statement on death of Jamie Bailey following fatal knife attack
Statement on death of Jamie Bailey following fatal knife attack - The Labour Party
Dublin Central TD Marie Sherlock has expressed her condolences to the loved ones of Jamie Bailey following his tragic death on the morning of 18 October.
“The fatal knife attack on Jamie Bailey is a stark reminder of the horrific and irreversible consequences of knife violence. My sincere condolences go to his family and friends.
“I know there is a real sense of horror and shock among local residents, and fear following what has happened. Knife crime is causing far too many serious injuries and deaths. We urgently need to discuss how we address this issue.
“Over the past year, there have been several serious knife attacks in our city. Last September, a 17-year-old boy was seriously injured after being stabbed up to 20 times on Eden Quay. Last month, a man was stabbed near Store Street Garda Station and another in broad daylight on O’Connell Street. Another man was critically injured after being stabbed on Foley Street in July. These are just some examples of how widespread knife crime is in our city centre, particularly in my own constituency.
“Last year, the Mater reported a 68% increase in knife-related injuries presenting to its emergency department, mostly among young men aged 18 to 34.
“The Minister for Justice talks tough on knife crime, but we have not seen concerted action to address this issue. The Dublin City Taskforce said we needed 1,000 additional gardaí for the city centre, but the Minister cannot say when this will happen. While we need deterrence, we cannot simply police our way out of this. We need a local action plan to tackle knife crime in our city.
“We need more education in our schools about knife crime and its consequences to address the normalisation of knife carrying. We must make it harder for anyone to get their hands on exceptionally sharp knives. We also need to consider whether a knife amnesty could help tackle this problem in our city.”