THE COMBINED number of murders and manslaughters committed in the Republic in the past year has fallen by 40 per cent following a significant reduction in fatal stabbing attacks.
The 2008 manslaughter and murder rate plummeted on levels seen in 2007 and 2006, despite a violent end to the year which saw five people killed in stabbings during the Christmas holiday period.
According to the Central Statistics Office, which compiles and publishes crime statistics, there were 32 murders and three manslaughter cases in the first nine months of 2008.
There are no official figures available yet for the final quarter of 2008. However, records compiled by The Irish Timesshow 17 people were killed in the last three months of 2008 in stabbings, shootings and beatings.
That brings the number of homicides in 2008 to a provisional figure of 52.
This compares to 84 cases last year and 67 cases in 2006.
The number of homicides - murders and manslaughters combined - for 2008 will be reclassified higher in the weeks and months ahead. Garda investigations into some suspicious deaths will be upgraded to murder or manslaughter as inquiries progress and laboratory tests on some human remains confirm deaths were unlawful.
However, this will most likely involve a small number of cases, meaning the homicide rate for 2008 will remain well below levels seen over the past two years.
The main factor in the falling homicide rate in 2008 has been a marked decrease in fatal stabbings.
In 2007 there were 38 fatal stabbings. However, provisional figures for the past year suggest fatal stabbings reduced in 2008 to between 15 and 18 cases.
Despite the fall in stabbing cases, Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern has voiced his concern and has promised to ban some sharp weapons such as Samurai swords.
He said he also intended to provide that less serious offences involving knives, such as possession, which can only be dealt with summarily at present, can also be dealt with on indictment, thereby incurring heavier penalties.
While the overall falling homicide rate will be welcomed by senior Garda management and Mr Ahern, the number of fatal gun attacks in 2008 remains a cause for concern.
According to the Department of Justice, 21 people lost their lives in fatal gun attacks in 2008, making shootings the most common form of unlawful killing last year.
All but two of the fatal gun attacks are related in some way to gangland crime.
The gun murder figure for last year represents only the second time in the history of the State that gun murders have exceeded 20 cases.
Most of the fatal gangland shootings last year related to one-off disputes between criminals.
However, at least five cases are attributable to entrenched feuds that have been active for many years.
Three cases were linked to feud- related violence in Limerick city.
A gangland feud in Sheriff Street in Dublin's north inner city claimed one life, while another ongoing feud in the Crumlin and Drimnagh areas of south Dublin claimed another life.