John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with my co-sponsor, Deputy Lahart. We wish to introduce the Road Traffic (All Terrain Vehicle and Scrambler Motor-cycle) (Amendment) Bill 2019. Quad bikes and scramblers continue to be a problem and terrorise many of our communities. It is not only that they represent a nuisance but the matter is very serious. In the three-year period, 2014-2017, 39 people, of whom 27 were children, lost their lives due to dangerous quad bike and scrambler use. Clearly these are not toys, and are fatal in the wrong hands.

Communities have had enough. This House has debated it backwards and forwards for the last three years, over the life of this Government. To be fair, the Minister for Justice and Equality has acknowledged there is a problem in this area. He has established a cross-departmental inter-agency group which has met several times to discuss this. The reason we are introducing this Bill is that in February the Minister, in a reply to me, said that in terms of road traffic or public order offences, he did not believe that any new legislation was required. I am afraid that is where we differ, and significantly.

Along with some of my colleagues, I sit on a joint policing committee. The issue of problematic and illegal use of quad bikes and scramblers comes up time and again. Senior gardaí make the same point which I must emphasise as the response must be appropriate. They tell their officers that they must not physically stop the youths who are engaging in this behaviour for their own health and safety and that of those on the quad bikes and scramblers. Therein lies the dilemma. We have road traffic legislation which is not proving effective, is not affording the garda the opportunity to apprehend and seize these vehicles. It is in that context that we are bringing forward amendments to the Road Traffic Act in this Bill and to introduce a range of other penalties, but particularly to empower the gardaí to seize these quad bikes and scramblers when they are in use.

My colleague, Deputy Lahart, will now introduce the main points of the legislation.

See this speech in context