Figures compiled by the Sunday Tribune show that more people have been killed by knives since 2000 than in gangland-style gun assassinations.

The minister is understood to be eager to tackle the apparent growth in knife culture with the number of people carrying dangerous weapons and in particular combat-style knives and other sharp implements believed to be on the increase.

Callers into the RTE Radio One Liveline programme last week raised concerns about the sale of diver's knives through the Lidl supermarket stores nationwide which could be used for criminal purposes. The two types of knives, one of which is 17 centimetres long, have stainless steel blades and special handles for improved grip. They go on sale at Lidl stores in the Republic tomorrow.

A spokesman for McDowell said that the provision to introduce an amnesty for knives has been agreed under amendments to the criminal justice bill which is currently being discussed at Oireachtas justice committee. The amnesty would involve the minister bringing forward enacting legislation similar to that required for the proposed firearms amnesty which McDowell has previously mooted.

Eight people have been stabbed to death so far this year. Martin McLoughlin, 21, became the first person to be killed in 2006 when he died after being stabbed inside Jury's Hotel near Croke Park at 4.30am on the morning of 1 January. A man has been charged in connection with the killing.

Since McLoughlin's killing, a further seven people have been stabbed to death in Ireland. These include Glen Keegan, 10, and his brother Andrew, six, who were stabbed to death by their mother in their home in Firhouse in early February. Forty-one-year-old Mary Keegan killed herself following the assault.

The most recent victim of a fatal stabbing incident was 22year-old Gary Wisely, from Knocklyon. Wisely died after being set upon by a group of men after he left the Jobstown House pub. Last week, gardai in Carlow disarmed a Polish man carrying two sixinch knives during a dispute between half-a-dozen eastern Europeans in the town.

Stabbings account for almost one-third of killings in Ireland this decade, with a total of 102 people having been stabbed to death in Ireland since the beginning of 2000. A total of 85 people have been shot to death in Ireland in the same period.

A total of 337 people have been violently killed in Ireland since the beginning of the decade, with stabbings accounting for the single biggest method of killing.

Fine Gael supports the introduction of an amnesty to have knives handed in to gardai. "It is a growing problem, in line with the trend in the use of weapons of all kinds to settle disputes, and in that context it would be welcome, " Fine Gael justice spokesman Jim O'Keeffe told the Sunday Tribune.

O'Keeffe said that the proposal would have to be discussed in considerable detail once the criminal justice bill goes to report stage to properly define what would constitute a dangerous knife as opposed to a kitchen implement.

In 2002, stabbings accounted for less than half of all killings in Ireland, with 26 people stabbed to death. Many of those killed were young males. Although fatal assaults involving knives often take place inside private accommodation, there has been a huge rise over recent years in the number of people stabbed to death outside pubs, indicating the attacker armed themselves in advance with the weapon.