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

I welcome the Deputies bringing this Bill forward. We were fortuitous in it being drawn from the lottery. We have been talking about this issue for some time. There is a broad understanding of this in the House, both from the Deputies who have spoken but also on the part of Deputy Lahart, who brought forward an earlier Bill which has now gone to the next Stage, and Deputies Chambers and Haughey. What we want now is action. I welcome what the Minister of State said, because it outlines the action the Government is going to take on this matter. It is interesting to compare the debate we had when I introduced my Bill in November last year with the debate now. There has been a change in the Government's policy. The Deputies are correct that Deputy Ellis and I have been talking about this for some time in our constituency, but the difference between Deputy Ellis and me was the decision last year to enter government. It is from within the Government that we can change policy, and there has been a significant policy.

When the Government gets things wrong, the Opposition correctly points that out. However, it is important to note that when something has been done right, credit should be given to the new Government for reshaping new policy. What is that new policy? It did not happen by accident. It happened because the Taoiseach took a very serious interest in this issue. He convened a cross-departmental meeting last November in his office. After one meeting it was very clear what the solution was and after some persuasion with the Attorney General and officials, the solutions were brought forward. They are very clear. We have brought forward a new class of vehicle and of location which outlines clearly the offence and violation specific to scramblers. That resolves some of the issues we had with vehicles outside of anti-social behaviour use.

It also empowers gardaí to impound the vehicles on the spot, which avoids us having to redefine the public place and the common law implications. Importantly, it gives gardaí the powers to seize a vehicle on foot of a warrant if the person involved is suspected of having committed the first offence I outlined. That is the significant and important difference between the two Bills. The fourth difference relates to the offence of dangerous driving being applied to other locations, which is also significant.

Major progress has been made, and the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications has already been briefed on it. I look forward to the amendments being introduced. We have not waited for that either. The Minister of State, Deputy Browne, has done significant work. Community groups in my area and in other areas have already received invitations to apply for more than €200,000 of funding for diversionary tactics, and they have applied. Much work has been done and there should be credit when it comes through. Like other Deputies, I look forward to seeing the final items of legislation. They will make a real difference for people in my community.

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