The father of Cameron Blair, a student who was murdered over five years ago, has said it is a "very sore point" for the family that his killer cannot be identified as he was under the age of 18 at the time of the crime.
The 20-year-old died in Cork University Hospital after he was stabbed in the neck at a house party on the Bandon Road in Cork in January 2020.
He was a native of Ballinascarthy in west Cork and a second-year chemical engineering student at Cork Institute of Technology.
The identity of the man responsible for his murder cannot be revealed due to a Supreme Court ruling last week that overruled a Court of Appeal judgment permitting the naming of the young man, who was 17 when he pleaded guilty to Cameron's murder.
Cameron's father, Noel Blair, said the family were "really disappointed" by the ruling.
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He told RTÉ's Oliver Callan programme: "This individual can't be named, but every member of our family from the youngest child to the great grandmother, there's no anonymity there.
"Everybody is out in the open. They've done nothing, they’re innocent.".
It has left the family feeling that the justice system works in favour of the accused and not the family of a victim.
"They run the roost anyway, the criminal justice system works in favour of them," he said.
Noel described his son as a keen sports player and a "fine lad" and someone who would have gone far in life.
Five years on from the murder, the convicted man is now an adult and Noel said he is "really, really disappointed" that his son's murderer has retained the right to remain anonymous, following this latest court challenge.
Cameron 'didn't see that coming' - Father
His son's killer was just weeks away from his 18th birthday when he pleaded guilty to murder and he was later given a mandatory life sentence.
He said his son was a "great negotiator" and easygoing and would not have wanted to get into an argument on the night.
The stabbing of Cameron in the neck that night was described in court as "vicious, deliberate and cowardly".
"He didn't see that coming," Noel said, "it was a viscious blow."
On hearing the news of the incident, the family drove to Cork city as fast as they could, but their son had died by the time they got there.
The court case came around quickly, due to the young age of the accused, which was something that upset the family.
"Six months or less after Cameron was murdered I was in the Central Criminal Court in Dublin, all because the criminal's counsel can force the situation that he has to be prosecuted before he turns 18," Noel said.
Family has tried to 'keep the chin up'
Noel said he now wants legislators to help ensure that parents take more responsibility for the actions of their children, with mandatory sentencing designed to cut down on knife crime.
He said he would like to see a one-year minimum sentence for anyone caught with a weapon, which could cause harm.
"The first offence... for knives and weapons that could harm people, there should be one year, mandatory," he said, without mitigating circumstances being taken into account.
He said multiple convictions should not be allowed to build up and that maximum sentences for crimes should be enforced. He said the laws were already there.
The Department of Justice said the maximum sentence for possession of a knife with intent to cause injury to, incapacitate or intimidate a person has now increased from five years to seven years.
Noel said the family had taken strength from the amount of people who had come out to support them, which he said was "amazing" and they still receive visits from Cameron's friends to this day.
He said his son had a positive attitude and that since the events of 2020, the family has tried to "keep the chin up because theres other family members as well... you just have to struggle on, keep going".
He said he is campaigning on this issue in order to try to help others.
