Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I very much agree with the previous speaker on the use of quad bikes. It is important to recognise that they can be essential work vehicles but they can also be a complete nuisance. I commend Sinn Féin on putting this motion before the Dáil. It is important that we discuss the serious injury and death as well as the mere nuisance that quad bikes and scramblers can cause when inappropriately used.

I wish to bring to the attention of the Dáil one other thing which I think should be included in this category, namely, jet skis. I do not know anybody for whom a jet ski is an essential work vehicle. They are a nuisance which I encountered throughout this summer. There were a lot more people in the water in Clare than in previous years. As a result, jet skis were used in lakes throughout the county. I urge the Minister to look at the nuisance jet skis cause. The last Minister to look at this and propose a licensing regime was the former Minister for State at the then Department of the Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Hugh Byrne, a Fianna Fáil member from the Minister's part of the world.

I know that general boating is not subject to licensing in Ireland and I do not think it should be. There is a long tradition of lake boating where I come from in Clare, and I am sure it is the same in most counties with lakes. However jet skis are very different from a young lad doing a bit of fishing in a boat on a lake. He can ramp up the outboard engine as much as he wants but he will not cause much nuisance. However, one of my earlier childhood memories is of someone wrapping a jet ski around a pier. The rider was going at full throttle and simply did not know how to stop. Apparently a jet ski will stop if one drops it, but this person did not know it and ploughed straight into a pier. They were brought to hospital by an ambulance. Luckily they survived, though the jet ski did not. The nuisance continues in that same spot year after year.

I refer again to the increased number of people on the water this summer because of the lockdown and the initial good weather. Jet skis were used on lakes where they had never been seen before. I spoke to a constituent about it yesterday. She told me of an incident on her family farm, which adjoins a lake. A cow was so panicked by jet skis on the lake that she threw a calf.

There can be no doubt that jet skis are a nuisance. I am not suggesting for a moment that all jet skis are a nuisance. There is a time and a place for jet skis, just as there is for quad bikes and scrambler motorcycles, as Sinn Féin fully recognises in this motion. Those vehicles are appropriate in properly fenced and secured mountain biking areas. However, jet skis on the water and motorbikes in parks are potentially very dangerous vehicles. We are all very aware of the very sad story of the Armenian couple which might have partly inspired this motion. Other people have come close to very serious harm because of the inappropriate use of motorcycles and quad bikes.

I urge the Minister to keep jet skis in mind when dealing with this issue because they pose a particular threat. They also pose a threat to people who just want to go about their lives and enjoy a tranquil and scenic day on Lough Derg or Lough Corrib. Someone wishing to do some quiet and contemplative fishing can be confronted with an idiot on a jet ski. Not every jet ski owner is an idiot. Many are highly responsible, but unfortunately not all of them are. Some kind of regime must be put in place to differentiate between those who use jet skis in appropriate places and those who do not, and thus break the peace and tranquility of the area and endanger human and animal life on quiet lakes, frequently frightening cattle.

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