Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I listened to the Minister's speech. He said he absolutely agrees with the intention of the Bill and the objective of tackling the misuse of scramblers and quads in parks and other recreational areas. He talked about the difficulties in this regard. He said, "it is critically important that we all redouble our efforts [to tackle the misuse of these vehicles], including an examination of powers available to An Garda Síochána" and so on. Before he left, he said we have his support. The difficulty we have is to translate this support into action. That is collectively what we on this side of the House, and probably some of the Government's own Deputies, are all saying.

Deputy Ellis and I raised this matter in the House in 2014. We put forward a Bill. Tom Hayes was a Minister of State at the time. He said after the debate that he was not really aware of the difficulties. I talked to him about parts of his own constituency. Were the Minister, Deputy Ross, here, I probably could have outlined to him some of the areas in his constituency where this is a problem. It is a huge problem - collectively, I think we know that - and it is not going away. In 2014 we were told sufficient legislation was in place to deal with this difficulty. The Minister, Deputy Ross, said that "earlier this year, the Department of Justice and Equality convened meetings with key Departments and agencies on the misuse of scramblers" and that "a multi-agency task force was established, including representatives of An Garda Síochána, the local authorities and other bodies concerned". We were told the same in 2014 by the then Minister of State, Mr. Hayes. It is now 2018, four years later, but people are still facing this problem.

In the past two weeks, I have received representations from different areas, not all typical working-class areas. This is a problem in estates right across my constituency. In one area there are about eight quads and scrambler bikes. The majority of the people who use them are involved in drug dealing, so even if the bike is taken from them, they can replace it the following year if they are involved in that.

I have seen photographs taken with a camera in people's cars of quad bikes on two wheels on main roads in estates and scramblers on one wheel. Parks and green spaces should be inclusive spaces. The problem we face is that no elderly person, certainly nobody with a pram or in a wheelchair, would go into a park in these circumstances. No parent would allow his or her children to do so. Those who use these vehicles are frightening people off by intimidating and harassing them.

Other Deputies have referred to the problems people face in their homes. Many people cannot get out of them for mobility reasons. People were tortured for the entire summer, but it has not stopped now that the summer is over. The "vroom vroom" continues at this time of the year when it gets dark earlier and earlier. It is not as if it starts at 3 p.m. or 4 p.m. In some cases, it starts at 7 a.m. or 8 a.m. and continues until midnight or 1 a.m. Regardless of what windows someone has in his or her house, he or she will hear this noise. It is a problem. What do people do? They ring An Garda Síochána and in some cases gardaí come out. In fairness, in some cases they take quad bikes off those who are using them or track those involved back to their houses. The Garda Press Office issued a photograph after the recent incident in Darndale to show that gardaí had taken some scramblers and quad bikes off the road. That is all very well, but this problem is still arising and actually multiplying. I recently spoke to a resident who was terrified of what would happen at Christmas because she knew that it would lead to more quad bikes being used.

I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, to tell the House what he can do. As Opposition Deputies, we have tried to introduce legislation, but we have been told that it would make the law more vulnerable. The Garda Press Office told us four years ago that sufficient laws were in place, that further laws would interfere and take resources and that diversionary approaches would be taken in respect of those at risk of offending. We were told that all sorts of system were in place. We can agree collectively that there is a problem. Fianna Fáil has suggested we put this proposal which has been passed on First Stage on hold for two or three months. If we do, how long will we have to wait for concrete solutions to this problem? Are there answers in the script prepared for the Minister of State? Does the Minister, Deputy Shane Ross, have to come back in? For how long will the task force sit? I have referred to what we were told four years ago. The Minister referred to a more recent development. Perhaps it stopped when the Government fell or after the general election. I do not know, but we need solutions as people are crying out for help.

The issue is not confined to cities and towns. It is affecting people across Ireland. It does not have an impact in rural Ireland where it is seen as positive. Reference has been made to quad bike safety. We are conscious that the people who use quad bikes and scramblers are a danger to the general public, themselves and other road users. I have mentioned some of the specific dangers. It is time for solutions. If the Bill is voted down, when can we expect further legislation to come from the Department? People who are trapped in their homes are being driven mad by what is happening in fields and green spaces outside their houses. When will they receive positive messages from the Government? They want to hear about what it can do, rather than about what the Bill does not do.

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