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

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Road Traffic (All Terrain Vehicle and Scrambler Motor-cycle) (Amendment) Bill 2019. This Bill has come about because of the growing problem with quad bikes and scramblers in many urban areas. Deputy Lahart alluded to certain areas. There is not a Member of this House who represents an urban area who has not come across this problem. It affects areas, predominantly urban, right across the country and, unfortunately, it is growing. We did not begin by wanting to produce legislation. I consulted the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport and submitted parliamentary questions, which were subsequently transferred to the Minister for Justice and Equality. The matter has gone on for three years. I acknowledge that the Minister for Justice and Equality has taken it seriously and that he launched a consultative process. He acknowledges that there is a growing issue with quad bikes and scramblers in urban and, in particular, residential areas.

Like many of us, I have been out canvassing in recent weeks. For an hour and a half on a road in a housing estate - not in a park - a young fellow was driving a scrambler round and round. At every door I was informed that it was terrible and that people could not let their young children out. That is happening in communities across the city, not just in my area.

The Minister for Justice and Equality has been aware of it. Over a year ago he convened a cross-agency and interdepartmental meeting. The meeting was attended by officials from the Departments of Justice and Equality, Transport, Tourism and Sport, Housing, Planning and Local Government and Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, An Garda Síochána, the Road Safety Authority and the Revenue Commissioners. There was an understanding that we have a significant problem that needs to be addressed. The Minister spoke about the need to develop a multi-agency approach in order to tackle this antisocial behaviour effectively. The purpose of the cross-sectoral meeting was to ascertain whether additional legislative or other solutions could assist in dealing with the misuse of scramblers and quad bikes more comprehensively with a view to determining responsibility and timeframes for implementation of solutions identified.

It is unfortunate that the Minister for Justice and Equality is not here tonight, but the Minister opposite, Deputy Ross, might relay this message to him. The Minister for Justice and Equality stated that he remains committed to actively supporting any positive action that can be pursued in order to counteract the serious public safety issues associated with the misuse of scramblers and quad bikes. I encourage him to work with us on this legislation. I do not claim that it is perfect. It is a starting point and can be developed. We are open to working with the Minister on amendments. In fact, it would have been preferable if the Minister were advancing this legislation because the resources in the Department are far greater than those available to us. I will gladly work with him because a solution is necessary.

I accept that we have an abundance of road traffic legislation. However, as my colleague explained, it is simply unenforceable. I have been a member of a joint policing committee, JPC, for three years. The issue of quad bikes and scramblers has arisen at every meeting and on each occasion it takes time to go through the same debate whereby the gardaí present clearly indicate the areas where they are in use. The superintendents of the different districts state, as a matter of public record, that they have instructed their officers not to pursue young people riding quad bikes or scramblers because it is not safe for them to do so. While some people may state that we already have adequate legislation, it is not effective and is not being enforced. The problem is getting worse each year. It is more prevalent, with more people and a greater range of quad bikes and scramblers involved. Something needs to be done.

Earlier, I outlined the Minister's response from a year ago. I have been following up with the Minister for Justice and Equality because the matter needs to be addressed. In February in response to a parliamentary question, he advised me:

... my Department's main focus over the past number of months has been on the consideration of legal advice received from the Office of the Attorney General in November. This required engagement with the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport in the context of existing road traffic legislation.

The Deputies will be aware from my most recent reply that the consensus of both Departments, and the Office of the Attorney General, is that road traffic and public order legislation [these words are important] appear to provide adequate means for prosecuting offences relating to this anti-social behaviour.

He stated that they "appear to provide", but they are simply not working; it is not happening. While the legislation may be in place, enforcement and implementation are not happening. Based on the reply to which I refer, we decided to introduce legislation to assist the Garda. The real problem is that during the event when somebody is on a quad bike or a scrambler going up and down the banks of the canal, through a housing estate, on a football pitch, in a parkland, a linear park or whatever, they are getting away with it. Gardaí are simply not in a position to enforce the law to stop and seize the bike at that point. As Deputy Lahart indicated, this legislation affords the opportunity to seize the quad bike or scrambler at a time other than when the offence is being committed and that is the change that needs to be made. The existing legislation does not allow that to happen. We are asking the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to reconsider his response.

I listened in detail to what Deputy Lahart said. This is a reasonable proposition; it is not punitive. Fianna Fáil has many Members who represent rural areas. Deputy Lahart asked whether this would be punitive road traffic legislation for people in rural areas who may legitimately use quad bikes on their farms. We are aware of that. Most of this legislation is not applicable to those people because they are not guilty of using vehicles in a dangerous or antisocial manner.

It is worth noting that quad bikes that are used on farms are already supposed to be taxed and insured for use on public roads. This legislation does not create any new requirement in that regard for legitimate users. The Bill does not create any new requirement for quad bikes and scramblers that are used solely on private property such as farms. People in rural areas, who may be of the view that this will be punitive in respect of quad bikes they use for agricultural purposes, should not be concerned. We are quite clear that this is not the intention behind the legislation. If anybody has an issue with that, they can propose amendments to clarify the position. However, it is not the purpose of the Bill.

Deputy Lahart went through the main points of the legislation. To address the antisocial and dangerous manner in which these bikes are used, under the public order legislation we would increase the penalties for supplying these bikes to underage people. The Minister has acknowledged the legislation is there; we are proposing that those penalties be increased. We also propose the establishment of a vehicle register. For most law-abiding citizens, registration should not be a problem and could, in fact, be a benefit where vehicles are stolen for recovery and identification purposes. The registration should not be an issue.

I take an issue with the Minister for Justice and Equality's previous stance in claiming that the provisions of the present legislation "appear to provide adequate means for prosecuting offences". We do not agree and we do not believe it. That is why we are here tonight. We regularly sit on JPCs and listen to the same argument where superintendents consistently say the existing legislation does not allow gardaí to catch these offenders. They are instructing their gardaí not to pursue. The purpose of tonight's legislation is to allow for the seizure of these vehicles after the incident and not during it.

We understand the Minister is intent on opposing the Bill. I ask him not to oppose the legislation and to consider working constructively with us.

That is the manner in which the Bill has been put forward. I also ask other Members, who represent urban communities and who are sick and tired of this plague in their communities, to constructively work with us on it. We will work with Members from all sides of the House to refine this legislation, to give gardaí the power and authority to seize these vehicles and to take them out of our communities before somebody else is seriously injured.

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