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

No, they cannot take them. If they do, they must give them back. That is the specific issue we are discussing. I have attended numerous meetings with gardaí but they have consistently told me that they cannot seize the vehicles. Is the Garda Commissioner lost somewhere? If he is giving this advice, there is something wrong.

All we ask is that this legislation be brought forward and debated and if areas must be addressed or areas are omitted, let us deal with that. However, the Minister has come here to shoot down this simple Bill. Everybody here knows there is a problem, as does the Minister. He might be defending the position as written in the script, but he knows there is a problem just as I do.

People in communities in my area cannot sleep because of the motorbikes driving around all night. In Finglas, vehicles travel around Dunsink dump all night and the residents cannot sleep. The vehicles cannot be seized, so they can be driven around until the cows come home. Our parks and some of our green areas are a safe haven for them. The Government is putting its head in the sand and the Garda Commissioner says we do not have a problem, but the gardaí tell us something different.

I cannot believe what I have heard. We cannot even debate this in the House. Members of the Minister's party know that not only Dublin but Cork and other areas across the country have the same problem, because they are encountering it daily. Can we not hear their voices to verify that this is the case? The Government is saying it will shoot down this Bill, but the community safety statement from the south Tipperary joint policing committee in 2011 identified quads and motorised miniature vehicles as an issue. That is in the Minister's constituency. The committee knows it is a problem and knows we cannot seize the vehicles. People can joyride around the park until the cows come home. The attitude is that it will be dealt with when they come out onto the road. The Minister is saying that if they are not doing damage in the park, even though they are flying around on the paths and endangering people, they can be left there as there are other means of dealing with them when they come out onto the road. We are putting people's lives at risk and communities in danger.

This is happening everywhere. It is not just confined to working class areas. It is a bigger problem in certain areas, but it is a problem in every area of the country. The Minister mentioned section 8 for dealing with this, but that does not confiscate the vehicle. The big problem here is the vehicle. I am pleading with the Minister. The Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, or the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar, should have been in the House to deal with this. I called down to the Minister, Deputy Vardkar, to try to explain what I am seeking to do but I could not catch him. I ask the Minister of State to go back to the Ministers on this specific matter. It is a major problem and we cannot ignore it, but that is what the Government is trying to do.

The gardaí will confirm this and are saying as much themselves. The Minister should ask them. The policing committee in Dublin City Council, which is the biggest in the country, has this issue on its agenda. The gardaí and the superintendents have said it is a problem that must be dealt with. The specific problem is that the Garda does not have the power to seize the vehicles. All I ask is that the Minister reconsider his position and not just shoot down this Bill. He should think again and ask the Ministers to examine it again. I am prepared to meet with them and explain the problem.

It is a far bigger problem than the Minister has said. It is a massive issue because communities are being tortured. People in parks are not afforded the same protection as they have on a road. That is the issue, and it must be addressed. One cannot simply leave them be in that area, which is what the Minister is effectively saying. I never claimed that this Bill would solve everything. I asked for suggestions to deal with the problem. I plead with the Minister to think again and not just put the Bill to a vote and dismiss it. For me, this is an issue involving the health, safety and interests of our citizens in our parks as well as looking after our parks.

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