Knife crime has become a “scourge on Irish society” and requires urgent action from both the criminal justice and public health systems, according to Advocates for Victims of Homicide (AdVIC).
The victims' advocacy group renewed its call for stronger measures following the death of Qayyum Balogun, a 21-year-old Maynooth University student who was fatally stabbed in Dublin city centre in the early hours of June 1.
Mr Balogun, who lived in Dundalk, Co Louth, had attended a concert venue on Grafton Street before the attack. It is understood he was initially assaulted on Grafton Street and then chased onto nearby Clarendon Street, where he was stabbed.
Emergency services transported him to St James's Hospital, but he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving.
Responding to the tragedy, AdVIC said it had been warning about the dangers of knife carrying for more than a decade and argued that those concerns have only intensified in recent years.
AdVIC spokesperson Joan Deane said the organisation's thoughts were with Mr Balogun's family and friends as they come to terms with their loss.
"The death of Qayyum Balogun is a terrible tragedy and our thoughts are with his family and friends," she said.
Deane said the devastating impact of homicide extends far beyond the victim, leaving families to cope with lifelong grief.
"Every homicide victim's loved ones are the only people that truly have to serve a life sentence as they are reminded of their loss at every family occasion or times like Christmas."
She argued that successive governments have failed to adequately address the issue.
"Knife crime is a scourge on Irish society that successive Governments have failed to tackle."
AdVIC first raised concerns publicly in 2015, warning that increasing numbers of young people were carrying knives and that the Government was underestimating the consequences of the trend.
"As far back as 2015, AdVIC publicly called for stronger measures to address the growing prevalence of knife carrying and the increasing use of weapons in violent assaults," Deane said.
"At that time, we highlighted concerns that too many young people were going out armed with knives and warned that the Government was failing to fully grasp the devastating consequences of knife crime."
More than ten years later, she said those warnings have become even more relevant.
"More than a decade later, those concerns are more real than ever. AdVIC believes there must be renewed urgency in tackling knife crime."
The organisation stressed that tackling the problem requires more than tougher policing and criminal justice measures alone.
"We must recognise that this is not solely a matter for the criminal justice system. Effective action requires both a justice and a public health response, with each given equal priority."
Deane also pointed to international examples that Ireland could learn from when developing strategies to reduce violent crime and knife carrying.
She said every death caused by violence should prompt meaningful action rather than temporary outrage.
"Every life lost to violence is one life too many. We cannot continue to react with shock after each tragedy and then move on."
Calling for urgent intervention, she added: "The death of Qayyum Balogun must serve as another wake-up call that enough is enough and that urgent action is needed to prevent further families from experiencing the unimaginable loss that follows a homicide."
The comments come as Garda investigations continue into the circumstances surrounding Mr Balogun's death, a case that has renewed public discussion around knife crime and public safety in Ireland.
