Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I was really happy to be able to co-sign this Bill. I thank Deputies Paul Donnelly, Ellis and Munster for bringing it forward originally. Looking around the Chamber, one can see the issue of scramblers in public spaces is a big issue in my area in Dublin Mid-West, particularly in Clondalkin and Lucan, because three Members from different parties who represent that area are here this evening to talk about it.

I took a walk along the canal that runs between Clondalkin and Lucan earlier today. It is an amenity I often use as a cyclist. I am not a very good cyclist, rather I am a novice. Mostly it is great, nice and peaceful, but all of a sudden a scrambler can come out of nowhere, which is frightening. Residents walking their dogs along the canal sometimes feel they need to jump in the water to get out the way of these scramblers, which is not good enough especially with amount of infrastructure South Dublin County Council, other organisations and Departments have put into that canal to make an amenity for all. We should be able to enjoy it.

I am also a keen footballer and I am involved with the local clubs in the area. We have had matches called off during the bad weather when the pitches are damper than usual. It just takes a scrambler two seconds to go across a pitch and the pitch is then ruined and cannot be used. This is something that good community organisations are facing on a daily basis.

I give great praise to South Dublin County Council. Three Members present were previously on that local authority. It has had many good initiatives recently, with new playgrounds being put in place and parks being improved. Our children and young people are now able to enjoy them. It is very difficult to enjoy a playground when a scrambler comes in when the children are playing. It is really dangerous and it is a weapon in the hands of the rider.

Deputy McAuliffe mentioned speaking to gardaí. I have spoken to gardaí in my area and they welcome this legislation. They welcome any legislation that strengthens their hand in dealing with this problem. Gardaí are inundated with people contacting them in respect of this issue. The Garda needs to be resourced in order to tackle it. While we can give the Garda legislation, we also need to resource it to make sure that gardaí can go out and take these scramblers of the streets. We just need to stop this scourge.

There seems to be all-party support across the House for most of what is in this Bill, and the Government is not opposing it. We just need to progress it through the Dáil.

Deputies Seán Crowe and Paul Donnelly mentioned personal responsibility on parents who purchase these scramblers for their children at Christmas or at any other time. It is just not good enough. They are putting a dangerous weapon in the hands of somebody who is not capable of using it. Their child could be hurt or could hurt somebody else. If they do not hurt somebody else, they are impacting on the quality of life of neighbours, friends and people in the community. Parents need to take that into consideration before they purchase these bikes for their children.

At one point along the canal - in fairness, the Garda carried out a big operation there - these scramblers were used quite openly to assist drug dealing. It was very clever with one lad going up with drugs in his hand and another lad coming back collecting the money. This meant that they never had the drugs and the and the money in the same place. If these lads put their brains to something else, they would do well in life. Unfortunately, they do not. Scramblers are being used as a way of getting away from the Garda or as a way of conducting business very quickly and using other areas of our communities that are inaccessible to cars.

There is also a group of people in my area who use scramblers correctly. They are involved in motocross clubs. They have to go outside our area unfortunately because there is nothing there. They enjoy themselves and use the bikes in the safe regulated manner. There is a nice community of people involved in this. I would fully support any infrastructure that would allow people who wanted to use scramblers and quads in a safe way.

When I was mayor of South Dublin County Council, I took part in an initiative across the four Dublin local authorities, South Dublin County Council, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, which is in the Minister of State's area, Dublin City Council and Fingal County Council. It was a harm-reduction measure relating to scramblers. It focused on teaching young people of the dangers of using scramblers and their effect on their community. That was a good initiative which may be repeated.

The Government has a tactic of not opposing Private Members' Bills, which is different from supporting them through the Oireachtas process. The Government is not opposing some of our very good housing Bills. It is letting them go through, but they are not getting any further. I introduced a Criminal Assets Bureau Bill to put money seized by bureau back into disadvantaged communities. It has passed Second Stage. The Government claims it will introduce legislation better than my legislation. I do not really care once it goes through and once it is done properly. We need to get away from what is happening. This is really good, tangible legislation that the Opposition has introduced. I said from my first day here that while I am in opposition, I am working on bringing solutions. This is one of the ways we are trying to bring solutions. Deputy McAuliffe had a previous Bill, which I would fully support if it is a way to move this forward because we need to work together on issues like this.

We need to stop getting into the argument that the Government legislation is better than ours. While I know this is what politics is all about, we need to work together. Deputy McAuliffe is in a party in government. He can dress it up however he wants, but his party refused to talk to my party when the government negotiations took place. He cannot throw it out that we did not try to go into government-----

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