Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I also raise the issue of the illegal use of scrambler bikes which is plaguing Dublin city and has been for some time. As Deputy Costello said, we saw the tragic incident of a young child being injured when a scrambler hit a quad bike last week. A young man died in Ballymun this month. In 2017, 62 people were injured in quad bike and scrambler accidents.

The issue is particularly bad in my constituency of Dublin North-West. In Finglas, Ballymun and many parts of Dublin, the issue is raised time and again. At every policing forum and joint policing committee, residents complain about the lack of progress and solutions.

I was delighted to see the issue included in the programme for Government because I had pushed for it. While it might have been unreasonable to expect to see it in the autumn legislative agenda announced last week, I urge the Department to prepare now to ensure that it is dealt with in the following Dáil term.

Representatives of the Garda have been clear regarding the legal ambiguities surrounding quad bikes and scramblers. They have also been honest about the challenges around enforcement.

It will not be solved by one measure alone. When I was Lord Mayor of Dublin, I set up a working group which made clear recommendations that were communicated to the Department. Those recommendations included greater education and changing the rules of evidence to allow for scramblers to be crushed and destroyed.

A priority of mine will be to ensure that these measures are progressed during the lifetime of this Government. There will be no getting rid of me on this until we have a solution. We need the legislation changed before another person is injured or killed and the communities that we represent deserve to be protected.

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