Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on the Bill. I commend Deputies Dessie Ellis and Imelda Munster on bringing the Bill forward and I will, of course, support it. Figures recently released to me by the HSE showed that, on average, at least one person per week is injured by an “all-terrain or other motor vehicle designed primarily for off-road use”. In fact, the Minister for Health told me there were 56 such injuries in 2015, 71 in 2016 and 62 in 2017. Of course, earlier this year, in my constituency of Dublin Bay North, we had the tragic case of the couple, former teacher Anzhela Kotsinian and her roofer husband Ilabek Avetian, whose lives were changed dramatically after a scrambler landed on them in a local park and left Mr. Avetian with devastating injuries. Over many years, constituents have had their peace disturbed or have been placed in acute danger by the use of scramblers in high amenity areas across the north of Dublin Bay North such as Streamville Park, Darndale Park and Riverside Green.

I have asked the Ministers for Justice and Equality and Transport, Tourism and Sport many parliamentary questions about the regulation of scramblers and quad bikes and, like other Deputies, I have spoken directly with Dublin city and Fingal officials. The replies given to me maintain there are already sufficient powers bestowed upon the Garda to enforce “severe penalties under the road traffic laws (including fixed charge notices, penalty points, fines and possible seizure of the vehicle)”. In fact, a parliamentary question reply I received in 2017 stated: “An Garda Síochána can also use section 20 of the Road Traffic Act 1961 to perform an examination of roadworthiness of any vehicle being used in a public place”, which obviously should include parks and amenity open spaces. I was also informed that local authorities can introduce necessary by-laws.

We know from many concerned constituents that when they phone the Garda about this dangerous driving, they are often told no cars are available. This is despite the fact there may be the whining noise of scramblers beside a house for hours on end, and there may be people who are not well in the house or children who have gone to bed, and so on. Mr. Justice Charleton, in his report last week, stated: “It is extraordinarily rare that gardaí are seen in uniform on the streets,” especially compared with “other major cities, such as Rome and London and Athens, where police are visible at intersections, at junctions and in public plazas.”

The Minister has told me a working group is examining a cross-agency approach to tackle the growing illegal and dangerous use of quads and scramblers. I believe this task force is also looking at possible designated safe areas and that the group met just last month. We look forward to seeing a result from that. As Deputies Ellis and Munster know, however, we often get answers from Government Departments telling us there is no lacuna in legislation, although we then see the real lack of enforcement, which seems to be based on gaps in legislation. Indeed, I referred an issue to the Minister for Justice and Equality earlier today in regard to the road traffic Bill.

This is a short but significant Bill to amend section 41 of the Road Traffic Act to allow gardaí to seize scramblers and quad bikes in instances where they are being used unlawfully. We need to address this once and for all and I believe the new subsection (6) will be very valuable in this regard. As with the supply of old cars and a range of illegal substances, I believe An Garda Síochána should target those who supply quad bikes and scramblers to children, including manufacturers, importers, retailers and everybody down the business line. The whole area of regulation, registration, licensing, tax and driver training is very unclear or non-existent in regard to these vehicles, despite the fact such vehicles can be a shocking nuisance and, in the case of Ilabek Avetian, can leave a man seriously injured for the rest of his life. In addition, as my colleague said, as we come towards the Christmas season, we need to be aware some youngsters will receive quads and scramblers as presents.

I warmly commend Deputies Ellis and Munster. The Bill is an important step towards getting to grips with this issue and I thank them for bringing it forward.

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