Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Many of the communities I represent in Cork North-Central, like other communities nationally, have been ravaged by scramblers and quad bikes. I commend my colleagues, Deputies Paul Donnelly and Ellis, on bringing forward the motion. They did so because Sinn Féin is committed to supporting communities and ending this scourge.

As the Minister of State said, in October the Garda, along with the Road Safety Authority, launched a campaign pleading with parents not to purchase these bikes or scramblers for their children for Christmas. In my constituency, several clubs have had their pitches destroyed by these bikes. These clubs cannot afford the thousands of euro needed to repair the pitches because they are run by volunteers in working-class areas who are doing their best. There is a green space close to where I live. Cork City Council has done brilliant work to make it an amenity with walkways and pitches for young people, older people and everyone else to enjoy, walk on and use to get out of the house. However, time and again it has been destroyed by quad bikes and scramblers driven by people who do not care about their neighbours or communities. We need action and the motion outlines the action we need to deliver.

I know some people who are really interested in bikes and quads. For young people, it would be a great initiative to provide facilities and places they can go to and enjoy themselves in a safe manner and be educated. What Sinn Féin is proposing are solutions for young people who are genuinely interested and for their friends as well as stronger measures to tackle those who wish to engage in anti-social behaviour and destruction. The noise that is generated by these bikes can be deafening for some people. Last Saturday, I drove through an area where I saw five or six young boys who were no more than 13 years old or 14 years old and were racing two scrambler bikes through a green space in the middle of a residential area. No disrespect to the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, but if communities have to wait on what he offered in his speech, they have no hope. I ask him to please support the motion. It makes sense and it will deliver now.

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