Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. Sinn Féin will table amendments to certain aspects of it. When it comes to the dangerous and antisocial use of scramblers and quads it is good to see the Government is taking Sinn Féin's lead and making provision for something that is a scourge on many communities. On this side of the House we have been told for a long time it could not be done but here we are and it is welcome. It has been a Damascene conversion but welcome all the same. What has been proposed is very much like the legislation Sinn Féin has tabled in the past. We will take progress when and where we get it.

It is sickening to think that for the sake of a rider's adrenaline rush other people can be robbed of their lives or suffer serious injuries from scramblers and quads. It is welcome to see the Garda getting the power it needs to tackle this reckless behaviour that has the capacity to inflict such devastating and life-changing injuries not only on individuals but, by extension, their entire families. The communities affected will breathe a collective sigh of relief that at least the Garda will be able to act. The important next step is that the Garda starts to implement the authority it has been given as soon as possible. Essential to this is having the resources, finance and personnel to move as efficiently and effectively as it should want. My party is seeking a meeting with Garda management to make sure it has the resources needed so the implementation can and will be done.

The provision in the Bill for e-bikes and e-scooters is equally critical. I have had quite a lot of contact from constituents on the use of e-scooters, particularly during the lockdown when people were keen to get in their daily walk. There are a lot of shared spaces where paths have become cycle lanes. Serious concerns have been raised about regulation, particularly by older citizens and citizens with visual impairment and disabilities.

The Bill also addresses the often dire traffic situation on the M50 with variable speeds, and this is welcome. Many of my constituents in north Kildare are veterans of the M50 and they could tell many a tale of woe, particularly during the Covid lockdowns. Motorists are under huge pressure in the commute, and the situation that has developed with delays and hold-ups is bad not only for emissions but also for noise pollution, air pollution and our mental and physical health. The variable speed changes will work, as anybody knows who has been on a motorway and overtaken by some eejit only to find themselves behind that person again as the traffic slows down. Variable speed limits will help to reduce build up on the M50.

As COP26 takes place in Glasgow, it would be remiss of me not to address the changes necessary in how we travel. We need a radical and quick change in our approach to transport in all communities, particularly rural communities. We need access to clean, green, high-quality, reliable and cheap public transport necessary in the 21st century as we face the climate crisis and meet our climate commitments. Electric vehicles are to be welcomed. They certainly have a role to play but they are not a panacea and they cannot be presented as such. The bottom line is that we need vastly fewer vehicles on our roads and vastly more people on public transport. The 20th century was the age of the individual in travel. The car provided privacy and independence.

Given the existential challenge that we face, travel in the 21st century must be about society and the public good. This means that we are going to have to perhaps relinquish some of our personal choices for a better societal outcome. This might involve taking a train at 3 p.m. as opposed to getting into the car at 2.45 p.m. just because we can. This is what we have to address now. We also have to address how time-poor we are. The reason so many of us use our cars instead of public transport is we are always in a hurry. As a society, we have to address how time-poor we are and how we always seem to be in a hurry on to the next thing while working so hard, and where commuting takes up so much time.

The change that is needed will involve all of us but its benefits will also be for all of us. I welcome this Stage of the Bill.

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