Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am absolutely flabbergasted by the Minister's response. It is not dealing with the real world. The Minister says advice was provided from the Garda Commissioner's officer. It flies in the face of what is said by every garda and superintendent I have met at the joint policing committees, which are also attended by councillors and Deputies from Fine Gael and the Labour Party. The Acting Chairman, Deputy Seán Kenny, attends them and has heard that there is a problem in the legislation. We have road traffic legislation, but it does not deal with public parks.

This is not just about the damage done to the parks. It is about the pathways on which these vehicles, be they motorbikes, quads or otherwise, are driven in a dangerous fashion, sometimes by children as young as four years old. We are talking about a very specific area, not all the laws that are in place. We already know those laws are there and that there are other means of catching people, but this is specifically to deal with a vehicle. The gardaí cannot seize the vehicles. Did the Minister not understand that? That is the problem.

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