Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the work my colleagues, Deputies Lahart and Curran, have done on this legislation. This problem is a scourge and a terror for many communities in Dublin. In every residents' association and at every public meeting there is a consistent trend of issues with scrambler bikes. People ranging from young children to those in their early twenties are terrorising communities. Children are not allowed onto green spaces because of scramblers being ridden through those spaces and through communities. The danger to children and young people in playgrounds and elsewhere is very serious.

As has been mentioned, 39 people, three quarters of them children, have lost their lives and there have been many injuries. An innocent man out sunbathing, Ilabek Avetian, lost an eye and was in a coma because of the impact of a scrambler. The fact that in 2019 there is still no regulation or oversight and a legal lacuna means that action is required. The Fianna Fáil Bill accurately addresses that legislative lacuna.

I listened to what Deputy Ellis had to say. Sinn Féin does not own this issue. We have a collective responsibility to deal with it properly. My colleague, Councillor Paul McAuliffe, in the Finglas-Ballymun area has done excellent work with the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party in driving and progressing this Bill. Public representatives like him want to work in a collaborative manner with other parties. Sinn Féin does not own this issue; no party owns it. We have a responsibility to do something, given the lives that have been lost and those who have been injured.

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