2026-07-14

Good afternoon and welcome to all our guests in the Gallery. I call Deputy McDonald on Leaders' Questions under Standing Order 38.

Sandra Deans is living a nightmare. Three weeks ago, her 14-year-old son Jayden was knocked down by a speeding scrambler in a hit-and-run incident. Jayden was on his way to the shops and he was hit as he crossed the road at the Five Lamps in the inner city. When his mother Sandra got the call and hurried to the scene, she arrived not knowing whether her son was alive or dead. Jayden has suffered a very serious injury to his leg. He has been left with a broken mangled leg and incredible trauma. He is now confined to his home and needs constant care while he recovers. Sandra is understandably very distraught but she is also very angry. People in the north inner city of Dublin and beyond, across our suburbs in Finglas and Cabra and all across the country, are sick to the back teeth of gangs on high-speed e-scooters and scramblers literally bringing havoc and real danger to our neighbourhoods. They speed through our communities with absolutely no regard for anybody's safety not to mind the law. These vehicles are being used to deliver drugs. They are also involved in open intimidation and create a real sense of menace and a sense of fear in our neighbourhoods. When Grace Lynch, who was only 16, died when she was hit by a scrambler in January, the Taoiseach said at the time that everything would be done. He said, and I believe he told Grace's parents, that this death was enough, that Grace was enough, and that we were not going to tolerate this situation any longer. Grace's Law was supposed to mark a real turning point for us. We are months on from its enactment and we see the plague of all of this getting worse and not better. Grace's parents, Siobhán and Martin Lynch, are here with us today in the Public Gallery and I welcome them. Later today they will appear at the justice committee. They say and they know that certainly not enough is being done to face down this scourge. They say correctly that unless the law is enforced, then it essentially means nothing. Martin, her dad, has told how his blood boils when he sees scramblers and e-scooters moving at high speed across our city with no consequences for the people on them. Lives have been lost. We know of the loss of lives in Carlow and in Galway. We know there are children on life-support machines in Temple Street hospital and beyond. Real harm and real damage is being done. The question has to be asked today: what is the Government doing about it? How is it possible that it is so easy for anybody to walk into a toy store and walk out with an e-scooter? In many cases, these e-scooters are being bought and they are moving way beyond 25 km/h. They are moving at 60 km/h and 70 km/h. We know that the scrambler bikes, in reality, in many cases, are motorbikes. We know there is not the requirement to have these vehicles registered and to have those using them licensed and to have tax and insurance - all of the standard things that we expect of anybody else using the roads. I want to know what the Taoiseach is going to do. When is this going to change? When will the Garda be resourced? When will gardaí have the training? When will they have the equipment to get on top of this and to make our communities safe?

Hear, hear.

What the Deputy has described is horrific for Sandra - I did not get her surname - and her son Jayden. It is something that we are going to deal with very robustly. The legislation in terms of Grace’s law was enacted on 3 April. We are now in the middle of July. I know the Garda Commissioner is speaking to the Oireachtas committee as well. There has been very proactive seizure of scramblers and, indeed, of e-scooters. About 2,000 e-scooters have been seized since 2024 and about 418 scramblers have been seized since 2024. The impact of these scramblers is horrific, as we know in the context of the appalling killing of Grace Lynch. I met Siobhán and Martin and I know how committed and dedicated they are to ridding society of this scourge. We will use every lever at our disposal to do this. The Minister for Transport will be working with the Minister for justice to bring in legislation to ensure that gardaí are protected while in pursuit of anyone on a scrambler or e-scooter. The Minister for Health has sought a full and comprehensive report from CHI in respect of injuries to children as a result of e-scooter accidents. The Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Seán Canney, is looking at all options in respect of e-scooters, including a full ban if necessary. There are options open to the House in terms of regulation or a full ban. The expectation is that the report from CHI will be of profound consequence in terms of what will be detailed in respect of the impact of e-scooters. In respect of scramblers, they are now explicitly banned for any use in any public place. The Minister for justice and the Garda Commissioner are continuing to examine any further actions they can do to clamp down on the illegal use of scramblers and e-scooters. There has been some progress in terms of Operation Meacán and operations of that kind. The Commissioner will give a presentation today to the committee in this regard. Operation Meacán looks, in particular, at the use of electric vehicles for criminal activity across the Dublin metropolitan area. Significant days of action have been carried out as a result of that, with e-scooters and e-bikes seized during the operation of Operation Meacán. I refer to the resources, the equipment and the legislation. It is not just about legislation. It is now about enforcement and it is also about ensuring that gardaí are protected as they enforce this law and this regulation. Irrespective of new laws, gardaí obviously have to weigh up and balance their interventions at given times in terms of the pursuit of some of these people, particularly those on scramblers. People are fed are up of it, however, and people have had enough of this. We are determined, with An Garda Síochána, to do everything we possibly can to rid scramblers from public places. If that does not transpire in terms of their continued frequency, we may have to look more at what would ordinarily be seen as extreme action in respect of scramblers more generally and what they are purported to be originally used for. I think we will have to look at every option in respect of this issue.

It certainly is about enforcement. Scramblers might be banned from public roads in theory but that is far from the reality. I would invite the Taoiseach to come to my neighbourhood of Cabra, Finglas or the north inner city and he will see the reality. They are an absolute scourge and a source of immediate danger to people's lives. So much more has to be done. People on the ground do not see a Government action that is determined to get on top of this. They see a very lacklustre, half-hearted response. The GRA has stated that not one garda has the training in respect of pursuit of people on these vehicles. The policy of non-pursuit is hugely problematic. These gangs on bikes and e-scooters know full well they will not be pursued. They have to be pursued. The training has to be provided for the gardaí.

The Taoiseach to respond now, Deputy.

Taoiseach, riddle me this: how is it these vehicles have no requirement to be registered?

The Taoiseach to respond.

Every single one of them, e-scooters as well as bikes, should be registered, taxed and insured.

Taoiseach will respond now, Deputy. Thank you.

Why is that not already the case?

As I said, vehicles are being pursued on an ongoing basis. This idea that there is not pursuit-----

They are not.

I am talking about generally. The idea that gardaí do not pursue criminals or activities is wrong. Yes, there have been cases, unfortunately, taken against gardaí. That is why the Ministers are bringing in additional legislation to protect gardaí while in pursuit. Even with that legislation, we all know judgment has to applied in given situations because pursuits are dangerous in themselves. It could be potentially dangerous to innocent bystanders or pedestrians. We had similar situations in different times which ultimately we got control of. It was not scramblers then; it was joyriding and all of that. We got control of that through various mechanisms working together. We have to do the same now in pursuing this issue. The Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Canney, will be back to the House in terms of regulations for e-scooters or a ban on e-scooters, which I must say I am leaning towards myself.