Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing my time.

I thank the joint sponsors of the Bill, Deputies Paul Donnelly, Ellis, Seán Crowe, Mitchell, Ó Snodaigh, O'Rourke, Ó Murchú, Ward and Quinlivan, for raising what we all know is a very real problem, namely, the dangerous misuse of scrambler bikes and other vehicles. Deputies Donnelly and Crowe spoke from the heart. When Deputy Donnelly stated that urban Deputies would be more familiar with this problem, that is certainly true in my case. I thank Deputy Crowe for his invitation to visit his constituency. While I am willing to visit any constituency, I am aware of the issue. I was a councillor until last year and I was, and still am, directly in contact with people who have this problem. I imagine it is a problem in urban areas throughout the State.

I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleagues, the Minister for Transport, Deputy Ryan, and the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Naughton, who are attending a Council of Europe meeting of energy and transport ministers in Slovenia.

We are not opposed to any measures which will successfully deal with the illegal use of such vehicles but officials in the Department of Transport, following consultation with the Department of Justice, An Garda Síochána and the Office of the Attorney General, are now finalising legislation which will comprehensively deal with the illegal use of quads and scramblers as part of the forthcoming Road Traffic and Roads Bill 2021. This legislation will ensure that scrambler and quad riders and owners can be prosecuted, and their vehicles detained, when they are being illegally used.

A great deal of work has been done on addressing this issue, and the Department of Justice, in particular, will be familiar with this problem. That Department convened a group of stakeholders a number of years ago, including officials of the Department of Transport, An Garda Síochána, the Local Government Management Agency, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and others directly affected by the misuse of quads and scramblers on land within their jurisdiction, and it has examined the issue from a variety of angles. Arising from these discussions, and on foot of comprehensive advice from the Attorney General, we are satisfied that the provisions to be introduced in the Road Traffic and Roads Bill 2021 will ensure that the misuse of quad bikes and scramblers can be dealt with effectively when enacted. We do not disagree on the fact that a problem exists, or on the need for legislation.

While not opposing the Private Members' Bill in principle, there are a number of provisions which cause concern and it is for this reason that the Minister for Transport would prefer to wait to introduce legislation which has been drafted by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and approved by the Attorney General, to ensure its robustness. The definition of "all-terrain vehicle", while intending to deal primarily with quads and scrambler bikes, would need to be carefully examined to ensure that it does not inadvertently include agricultural vehicles, Army vehicles, mining vehicles and other industrial vehicles which are also primarily intended to be used off-road. The introduction to the Bill states that its purpose is "to amend and extend the Road Traffic Acts 1961 to 2020 to give gardaí the power to seize and detain quad bikes and scrambler motorcycles when being used unlawfully including in public parks and green spaces and to provide for related matters". Section 41 of the Road Traffic Act 1994, as amended, sets out the circumstances in which a garda may detain a vehicle in a public place. However, section 2 of this Bill provides that such vehicles be detained under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997, and this could potentially lead to legal confusion. The Bill, in spite of the opening declaration, does not propose any amendments to the Road Traffic Acts.

There is also a serious difficulty with the key definition of "all-terrain vehicle". This defines "all-terrain vehicle" as including vehicles of certain types, listed in the definition, "which are primarily used off road". A more normal definition might refer to vehicles being designed for off-road use. Due to the way it is phrased, the proposed definition could mean that action contrary to the new offence to be defined in the Bill would not be an offence, provided that the particular vehicle in question was not used primarily off-road. Similarly, section 3 of this Bill also describes an offence of driving such a vehicle dangerously, this time under the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994, which will lead to similar legal difficulties as outlined earlier. The Bill also seeks to redefine "public place" as described in the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994. However, the definition of "public place" is very different from that of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 and, indeed, from that in the Road Traffic Act 1961. We are unclear how amending the definition of "public place" in one legislative measure might assist in the detention of vehicles under another, and why both of them might ignore the definition in the legislation which is currently being used successfully to detain vehicles in road traffic legislation.

When legislation was being developed to deal with the misuse of quad bikes and scramblers, consideration was given to the relationship between the anti-social use of these vehicles and road traffic law. Scramblers and quads are mechanically propelled vehicles. As such, they should be taxed and insured, and the user should have an appropriate class of driving licence when they are used in a public place, as defined in the Road Traffic Acts. Gardaí have powers to stop vehicles and to detain them when used without tax or insurance, or where the gardaí have reason to believe that the driver or rider is too young to be licensed to drive or ride the vehicle. The difficulties arising, however, are with the use of scramblers and quads in places which are not public places in road traffic law. Consideration was given to whether the definition of a public place could simply be expanded to include parks and other areas, but this was rejected because it could have had wide-ranging unintended consequences which could have created a great deal of legislative disruption by importing into parks and other areas a large body of law not intended or designed for those areas. The definition of "public place" is one of the cornerstones of road traffic legislation, and it is referred to more than 50 times in the Road Traffic Acts 1961 to 2020. This entire body of legislation could be undermined by the changing of a fundamental definition.

Section 3 of the Bill adds to the unintended confusion. It would create a new offence of using an all-terrain vehicle "or a scrambler motor-cycle" in a dangerous way. However, a scrambler is also part of the definition of an all-terrain vehicle, so what is meant in section 3 when it distinguishes between an all-terrain vehicle on the one hand and a scrambler motor-cycle on the other? If a scrambler is an all-terrain vehicle and a scrambler motor-cycle is something else, we are into very muddled territory which will leave plenty of opportunity for people to challenge the law.

The Bill empowers the Minister to make regulations as may be necessary to enforce this legislation and for anything described as prescribed in the Bill. However, the Bill does not describe anything as prescribed, and it is not clear what regulations would be required. In summary, the Bill is an attempt to address a real problem, but is misguided. It is mostly aimed at providing powers which already exist under separate legislation and would, at best, create confusion around the current legislation relating to Garda powers. The legislation the Government will shortly introduce will tackle the issue of the illegal use of quads and scramblers comprehensively and effectively by creating an appropriate offence, and further empowering An Garda Síochána's powers of enforcement in this area. In this context, the Department of Transport, the Department of Justice and An Garda Síochána are satisfied that it will achieve this.

The proposed new legislation is part of a wider consideration of possible measures to assist in dealing with the scrambler problem, including a community outreach programme which An Garda Síochána participates in, and the sub-group of the forum on anti-social behaviour, under the remit of the Department of Justice, which considers community-based approaches to address the misuse of scramblers and quad bikes as part of the overall package of Government measures to tackle the issue. This includes visiting schools and youth centres, and speaking to young people about the dangers of riding quad bikes and scramblers, both to themselves and to anyone they might encounter. There have also been suggestions that young people who are interested in biking in general could be offered training courses in engine mechanics. In particular, it is the intention of An Garda Síochána to make it more widely known that it is already an offence to supply a mechanically propelled vehicle to a minor. Supply includes selling, renting, lending or gifting. Quad bikes and scramblers all fall within this definition. The penalty for this offence is a fine of up to €5,000 and-or up to six months in prison for an individual who supplies such a vehicle, while the minors also face prosecution. The Garda has indicated that it will emphasise the existence of this offence in future community engagement. These measures by An Garda Síochána and the Department of Justice will help to educate young people and their parents away from considering scramblers and quads to be harmless toys, and make them aware of the serious legal and safety consequences of allowing their children to use such vehicles.

I will do a summary in my wrap-up speech later in the debate.

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