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

It should come as no surprise to anyone that Fianna Fáil has put together a Bill on quads and scramblers that is both ill-thought through and focused on forthcoming local elections. In October 2018, the Sinn Féin spokesperson on transport, Deputy Imelda Munster, and I brought to the Dáil a comprehensive Bill to regulate quads and scramblers. We made it clear at the time that we would give consideration to any concerns the Government or Fianna Fáil had with our Bill and, if they voted to allow the Bill to pass to the next Stage, their concerns could be addressed. I made this clear to both the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport and the Fianna Fáil spokesperson on transport. We brought our Bill to the Dáil and Fianna Fáil, along with the Government, voted against it. In 2014, I was also opposed by Fine Gael on a similar Bill.

Since then, those in Fianna Fáil have felt the backlash not just from local communities but also from their local councillors and support base. At every forum meeting and policing committee meeting, this issue has come to the fore. Senior gardaí have admitted there is a serious problem with the definition of a public space, as we outlined in the past. While I do not know what this committee has come back with, this comes up as an issue at every meeting I attend.

In my constituency of Dublin North-West, the community was incensed that the Government and Fianna Fáil colluded together to vote down our Bill. In fact, according to an article in The Local Newson 6 December, "furious" Fianna Fáil councillor, Paul McAuliffe, believes that the Sinn Féin Bill took an “arguable position” on scrambler and quad bike legislation. In fact, Councillor McAuliffe told The Local News, “All I can say is that, if I’d been in the Dáil myself, none of this would have happened”.

On 18 April, in the Dublin Gazettenewspaper, the sponsors of the Bill, Fianna Fáil Deputies Lahart and Curran are quoted as saying, “Existing road traffic legislation does not apply to green spaces, housing estates or public parks, which are the very places where these vehicles are most commonly used”. The Deputies are absolutely right and the Sinn Féin Bill would have dealt with this anomaly, but they chose to vote it down for political reasons.

The Bill, as presented, will not prevent the illegal use of quads and scramblers in public parks and greens. This is a fundamental flaw in the Bill and, as we identified in the Sinn Féin Bill, there is also a flaw in the Road Traffic Act, as everyone is aware. The antisocial activity associated with the use of these vehicles in these areas will continue unabated. Unfortunately, since the Sinn Féin Bill was voted down, there have been further fatalities and injuries resulting from the illegal use of quads and scramblers. Any attempt to seize vehicles in such places will most likely result in legal challenges. In fact, if such a vehicle is seized, it will most likely not be destroyed and will be returned to the owner. We have no problem in further penalising those who illegally use quads and scramblers and are engaged in serious antisocial activity. However, if this Bill continues to the next Stage, I will call for a review of the penalties handed out for road traffic offences as this Bill would create an inconsistency in that more serious road traffic offences would, in theory, receive lesser penalties.

Let us make it clear. The Fianna Fáil Bill is seriously flawed, most importantly because it simply does not address the anomaly created by the definition of a public space. The illegal use of quads and scramblers will continue in parks and greens. Unfortunately, and I honestly say this with great regret, this Bill does nothing to seriously tackle the problem these vehicles cause throughout local communities. These communities will continue to suffer from the sort of antisocial activity we are continuing to experience while a legal grey area exists on their use in parks and greens. The Bill does not resolve this crucial issue. If the Deputies are so convinced that under the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act, they can give a broad definition of a public place, including parks and green spaces, why was it not feasible to do the same under the Road Traffic Act? That is a question they need to answer.

To give an example, a few weeks ago, two scramblers were seized in Tolka Valley Park by gardaí after an hour of chasing, and they eventually caught one person. That person was on a stolen motorbike and, lo and behold, under the law the person can be charged with possession of stolen property but not with illegal driving or reckless driving because of where and how this motorbike was seized.

Unlike Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin will not play politics with this serious issue. We will support this Bill, knowing it is a flawed Bill, and if it goes to the next Stage, we will endeavour to amend it accordingly.

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