2026-01-27

I am taking this on my own. I think this is my third time today speaking about scrambler bikes. I spoke initially with the Taoiseach today, I spoke with the Minister in committee and now I have the opportunity to raise it as a Topical Issue. The reason it is topical is because of the tragedy that occurred in Finglas two nights ago when a 16-year-old lost her life in a manner that was despicable and heart-wrenching. Yesterday, we all watched a mother, who had to place her grief and her devastation alongside courage that the whole country could only see as unimaginably brave, stand in front of her community - a part of Dublin that I do not represent but one that I know quite well - and find the strength in her voice to say that we, and she herself, would campaign to remove scrambler bikes from her community. It was awe-inspiring to see that level of courage. We are all devastated that she had to find this courage, given the grief that she had suffered only the day previously. The Minister has said in one of his last contributions that this should be seen as a line in the sand and I absolutely believe him. Regarding the enactment of section 35 of the Road Traffic Act, there was actually a lot of good in that in terms of the capacity of gardaí to intervene. We have seen the seizure of more than a few hundred scrambler bikes over the last number of years. However, I live in the city centre. Each morning and night, I will walk my dog through various parks around the area and without question you will hear the rev at some point that week of a scrambler bike. When you hear that rev, you will look around and see parents grabbling their children. If there is a football match going on, it will stop. I have been walking down the streets and you see scrambler bikes coming up through bike lanes. I have been walking home from the Dáil in the evenings and have seen them going up and down O'Connell Street. We have to take scrambler bikes out of our communities. We have to simply ban them from urban areas. I say urban areas because, obviously, they are the areas I understand well, but I am conscious this is an issue that impacts communities the length and breadth of the country. There is no justification for a person to be on a scrambler bike in an urban environment, or any road in a public area, yet they persist. The Garda has done a great job in terms of seizure and apprehension of the bikes, despite the fact that there is a grey area in terms of whether gardaí can pursue. I am conscious that the previous Commissioner said that gardaí had that power but it was left up to individual gardaí to make that decision. That was wrong. I understand that section 35A, which would mandate the prohibition of scrambler bikes, has yet to be brought into regulation. We discussed that today. However, we need to go further and go at the sale of these bikes. There is the idea that a scrambler should only be used in an environment where there is a club associated with it. If it has a role in some sort of rural vocation, that is fine, but we cannot have a scenario where you can go onto Snapchat and buy a scrambler bike second-hand. Gardaí have told me they are seizing these bikes and the same people they are seizing them off are getting more two or three days later. We absolutely need to ban these bikes. I will trust them because I saw the determination in the Minister's eyes and the Taoiseach's eyes today but we need to go further. We need to regulate the sale of them and make them much harder to purchase because there is no justification for what we see with our own eyes. There are kids on scrambler bikes. Let us be very clear: people are transporting drugs on them, the bikes are seized and they are back on a different scrambler like within a couple of days. I would like to understand the timeframe by which section 35A will actually come into force and maybe we can go beyond that and regulate their sale.

I thank the Deputy. I was humbled and in awe as well at the strength of Siobhán Lynch in what she said, having gone through such a traumatic event in her life. The Taoiseach said today that there is nothing we can really say that will alleviate the pain she and her husband, Martin, are going through. I received an email this afternoon from Grace's aunt, Rachel, who raised a number of issues with me. There is a change because there is complete determination and agreement across the House that the provisions within section 35A need to be invoked and regulations need to be made. The Taoiseach was straightforward here today when he said that probably should have been done earlier. There is now clearly widespread, universal support in this House for regulations to be made that will restrict and prohibit the use of scrambler bikes in public places and public parks. That is a priority. The reason why I think that is something there is political consensus to do is because it can be done so immediately. Section 35A has been enacted. The regulations being prepared by the Minister for Transport are in an advanced stage of preparation. We now need to just do it and put in place regulations that will prohibit and restrict the use of scramblers on public roads, in public parks and public places. I agree with the Deputy. There used to be a form of sport where you would see scramblers on television going around a track or they would be in a certain area out in the countryside. People would put them on a trailer on the back of their car and bring them to the location. That is where they would use them. They were never intended for use on our public road system. In fact, it is an abuse of the system that people have been using them but this change, by putting in regulations pursuant to section 35A, will change circumstances. The Deputy said we should go further and regulate it. The Deputy talks about regulating their sale. I have no doubt the Government will give consideration to that but the Deputy knows himself that when it comes to something like that, we will need legislation in place for regulation. That takes time. That takes consideration. When you are going to regulate the sale of them, presumably people who want to use them for sporting purposes on tracks or up the mountains where it is permitted will be permitted to buy them. We just need to think of the consequences of that. That is why the immediate focus and immediate pressure should be on the commencement of regulations under section 35A. The legislation that was enacted back in 2023 introduced some additional amendments to strengthen our legislation in relation to the misuse of scramblers and other vehicles. First, as the Deputy knows, it extends the dangerous driving offence to cover all locations and not just public places. Second, it gives gardaí the power to seize a vehicle being driven dangerously in any location. This legislation also creates powers to restrict the use of specified vehicles or classes of vehicles, which is now also being considered. It has always been an offence to drive scramblers dangerously. I can assure the House that gardaí have enforcement powers to stop and seize the vehicle where this is the case. Members can see they have seized vehicles. In terms of the pursuits policy that was introduced in 2024, it provides direction to gardaí who engage in pursuit tactics and pursuit management to reduce risk. Obviously, nobody in this House wants to see gardaí not pursuing people who are engaged in criminal activity but as the Deputy will appreciate, if the gardaí are pursuing somebody on a scrambler bike going through a residential area at speed, there has to be some discretion on the part of gardaí to be able to think if this is creating a more dangerous environment for the community. It requires a certain amount of thinking on their feet and discretion by gardaí. The policy is that they can pursue.

I know it has always been an offence to drive scramblers dangerously in a public environment. I also know that in a public place, there is absolutely no safe way to drive a scrambler. That is what the difference is. There is no safe way to drive a scrambler in an urban environment. I trust the Minister on the enactment of regulation that will bring through the provision. I would like a sense of the timeframe from the Minister because we all watched Siobhán Lynch last night. The pain in that mother's voice is an absolute line in the sand moment for us. There is a mother and a family who are grieving but also committed to changing a situation that is impacting their whole community, their whole city and beyond. They deserve a sense of a timeframe for the regulations to be advanced. Will it be a month or two months? That is a justifiable ask. If the Minister cannot shed light on that today, maybe he could make a public statement on it by the end of the week. However, we have to go further. I understand legislation takes time but as the Minister said himself, there is cross-party agreement. There is nothing stopping us from getting emergency legislation through, if necessary. If a person seeks to buy a scrambler for sport, I absolutely understand that. There are still clubs. There is one up on the Alfie Byrne Road and I am sure there are others around the country. I am also conscious people need them on farms and in other rural environments. There is no reason why that cannot be linked to some form of an identification number from a registered supplier so that when you purchase them, there is a number allocated. That way, they are a restricted vehicle. All of us would agree with that. They do not belong in any public place. Let us ban them. I understand that is happening and we need a timeframe but let us go further and regulate them. These are the vehicle of choice for the transportation of drugs in my community and others. Let us get in front of that now and start the process.

I thank the Deputy. The Government and everyone in this House is committed to banning them on public roads, in public parks and in public places. That has to be done. The Deputy asked me for a timeline. I am not supposed to reveal what is discussed at Cabinet.

That is fair.

However, I can tell the Deputy having been at Cabinet this morning and having listened to the Taoiseach, there is a real commitment to ensuring this is done urgently. These are regulations that are being prepared in the Department of Transport. They will be signed by the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, who has delegated responsibility for road safety. There is a real urgency coming from the top of Government, from the Taoiseach, and all of us, to ensure that is done as quickly as possible. I cannot give the Deputy a timeline but the advantage of having the legislation in place is that all we require is for the regulations to be drafted, sent to the Office of Parliamentary Counsel and the Attorney General's office, stamped and signed. There is an urgency and real pressure on Government to do that, as there should be, and ensure those regulations are signed promptly. In terms of how the Deputy talks about regulating it, in many respects, it is not dissimilar from the discussion about nitrous oxide. Nitrous oxide can be used for legitimate purposes. It can be bought for legitimate purposes. Similarly, scramblers can be used for legitimate sporting purposes. If we are going to introduce a system of regulating the sale of them, we will have to set out a mechanism as to what will be required in order for someone to be able to purchase them and where they can be used. We will still have the issue that will need regulations to be put in place so that they are banned on public roads and in public parks. I have to say to the Deputy that if we could achieve that and get them banned on public roads and in public parks, that meets the cry from the Lynch family in terms of what they want. It meets the demands of what this House wants as well.