Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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I thank the Minister for coming into the House to respond to this issue, which I, together with other Members, have raised in recent years without a satisfactory response or indeed much response at all. The use of scramblers, quad bikes and motorbikes by young people has become the most common issue being raised in my constituency at community meetings. In safety forums in the Finglas and Ballymun areas, it is consistently the single biggest issue being raised by residents, the local authority and members of the Garda. People are losing patience with the Government's delay in responding to the matter by way of legislation and other measures.

There is now widespread use of quad bikes and scramblers by young people in my constituency and in many others, particularly in urban areas. It involves teenagers, in the main, driving these vehicles without tax, insurance or licence. It is not just a case of those over 16 years, who are obliged to abide by road traffic legislation, but we increasingly see younger children. In parts of the Dublin area at least, and probably in other urban areas, it is not unusual to see children as young as seven or eight years, and sometimes there are two or three of them on a single vehicle, racing around housing estates and on public open space, including parks, posing a huge danger to themselves, pedestrians and other road users. It is very closely associated with a high level of anti-social activity.

This has been brought to the attention of the current Minister, Deputy Flanagan, and his predecessors on several occasions. The problem is multifaceted. It started some years ago with the use of these vehicles in parks and the fact that road traffic legislation did not apply. We called for amendments there but nothing has happened.

Around Christmas 2016, I called for the Road Safety Authority and the Garda to announce an initiative to discourage parents from buying these vehicles for their children because it has become commonplace. They are not being stolen, they are bought by parents for children to race around the local community. It is a common practice that children as young as seven or eight years look for, and get, these vehicles as presents at Christmas or for confirmation or even first communion. That is because the situation has been allowed to get completely out of control. It was not stemmed originally when it was a minor problem only starting to emerge. Because of a lack of response then, the problem has now exploded and has reached a point where it is extremely widespread.

As an example, the local Garda sergeant in the Finglas area recently informed residents that he had successfully persuaded Tesco, which runs the local petrol station, to stop supplying petrol to these youngsters. Tesco deserves praise for agreeing to do so but this must be replicated by other outlets. That is the level of activity in which the Garda and the local council are involved in an effort to tackle this problem in the absence of an adequate response from the Government. Will the Minister please tell us that he will take this issue seriously. Can we expect to see some action?

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Shortall for raising this important public safety issue. The Deputy will recall that I responded to her parliamentary question on the same issue on 1 May 2018. I share the Deputy’s concern in respect of the misuse of scramblers and quad bikes. The repercussions of anti-social behaviour arising from the use of these vehicles can be very serious. Scrambler and quad bike users can become injured, sometimes critically, people in close proximity to these vehicles may also be injured, at times, acutely and there is the ever-present risk of fatality. In short, the misuse of scramblers and quad bikes can have a devastating effect on the users of these vehicles and the wider community.

The Deputy will appreciate I have no direct role in the prevention of anti-social behaviour or the enforcement of road traffic legislation, which are operational matters for the Garda Commissioner. However, the impact of anti-social behaviour associated with the use of scramblers and quad bikes is clearly unacceptable in terms of public safety, which is why I am focusing on this issue.

In order to tackle a public safety issue of this nature effectively, a multi-agency response is required. The Deputy is aware that my Department convened a cross-agency meeting on 25 April 2018. The purpose of the cross-sectoral meeting was to ascertain whether there are additional legislative or other solutions that can assist in dealing with the misuse of scramblers and quad bikes more comprehensively, with a view to determining responsibility and timeframes for implementation of solutions identified. The meeting was attended by officials from the Departments of Justice and Equality, Transport, Tourism and Sport, Housing, Planning and the Environment, and Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, as well as from An Garda Síochána, the Road Safety Authority and the Revenue Commissioners. My Department also met separately with representatives from Dublin City Council on 23 April.

The meeting took account of a range of perspectives on the misuse of scramblers and quad bikes and considered the various experiences currently being encountered in tackling this matter.

5 o’clock

An Garda Síochána continues to work with local authorities and other public bodies with regard to implementing non-legislative enforcement solutions to deal with the misuse of scramblers and quad bikes. It is vital that this engagement not only continues but accelerates. The meeting concluded with an agreed set of key next steps in the context of driving tangible progress on this public safety matter. My Department’s officials are engaging with the Office of the Attorney General to obtain legal advice on the interpretation of a number of relevant pieces of legislation identified at the meeting to determine whether any legislative amendments are necessary to assist in curbing anti-social activity insofar as scramblers and quad bikes are concerned.

My officials also intend to consult further with local authorities in the context of the positive engagement fostered by local authorities with local communities, examples of which include community and youth-centred projects such as the various horse projects. The experiences of local authorities involved in these and other projects will be very informative to my Department in this matter. As the Deputy will also be aware, an important element of this issue is the Road Safety Authority. The authority intends to run a safety campaign with the aim of discouraging those who may consider purchasing scramblers or quad bikes as presents for minors for Christmas, birthdays or special occasions. I stress that the supply of mechanically propelled vehicles to persons under 16 or 17, depending on the vehicle, constitutes an offence under section 30 of the Road Traffic Act 2004. I assure Deputy Shortall that I am committed to supporting actively any positive actions that can be pursued in response to the serious public safety issues arising from the ongoing misuse of scramblers and quad bikes. I am happy to hear from the Deputy and to listen to her views from an on-the-ground perspective. I welcome her comments and her contribution.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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I thank the Minister for his reply. I very much welcome the establishment of the multi-agency group to look at this issue but progress is painfully slow. To a large extent the genie is now out of the bottle. It has become standard practice in some communities for youngsters to have these vehicles. Obviously the law has to be enforced in respect of those over 16 years of age. There has to be insistence on tax, insurance and a licence, but how is the Minister going to deal with the now very widespread problem of people under 16 years of age owning and using these vehicles? We need an urgent response to this and we are not getting it. There have been many serious accidents and it is inevitable that there will be further serious accidents and death caused by this activity. We are now in a period of fine weather and facing into the prospect of bright evenings and, it is hoped, long warm days. That brings its own problems in terms of this kind of activity in communities, which really poses a huge threat to other people who are trying to live in peace and quiet. It poses a threat to other children who are trying to use public open spaces and to people who are trying to engage in sport and so on. Pitches and parks are being churned up by the use of these vehicles.

There is no more time to lose in respect of this issue. We need an urgent response. It is fine for the interagency body made up of the four Departments and the Government agencies to be looking at this but we need action. There is a need for a change in the law in respect of the seizure and confiscation of these vehicles where they are being used by children. It is the parents who need to be pursued in terms of fines. The legislation needs to be changed and there needs to be a much stronger focus on this issue. There needs to be a sense of urgency from that interagency group because, as I have said, it is inevitable that there will be further serious injuries as a result of inaction in this area.

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I do not take issue with any of the points raised by Deputy Shortall. I acknowledge her interest in this matter. My Department will take ownership of this issue by convening the local agencies and stakeholders concerned. The problem has been that this issue has been passed around the various agencies and authorities. My Department has taken responsibility and leadership by convening a multi-agency group. We will continue to do that until this issue is resolved.

Deputy Shortall will also be aware that An Garda Síochána signalled its commitment to increasing the overall strength of the roads policing unit with the assignment of 150 additional gardaí to roads policing this year. It is proposed to continue to increase the overall strength of the roads policing unit until the full operational strength is restored. Road safety is the shared responsibility of all road users, not just An Garda Síochána, the Road Safety Authority and other State bodies. I urge anyone affected by or with information about these types of anti-social behaviour to contact their local Garda station. The phone number for the Garda confidential line is 1800 666 111. It is a monitored freefone line which allows members of the public to contact An Garda Síochána with information of a confidential nature. Crimestoppers, which operates in the Deputy's constituency, can be contacted on 1800 250 025. I acknowledge the commitment of all of the agencies involved in the genuine collaborative engagement being nurtured with local communities in seeking viable long-lasting solutions.

While the Deputy complains, I would be happy to hear her proposals for solutions along with mine because I firmly believe that this is the key to resolving the public safety concerns associated with the misuse of scramblers and quad bikes. It is easy to complain from the Opposition benches. In fact the Deputy has made a career of that.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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I have suggested what the Minister should be doing.

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I would welcome her proposals. I ask her to share in the resolution of this issue. I guarantee the Deputy and the House that I will continue to monitor closely the cross-agency engagement put in place by my Department. I acknowledge the experience of the Deputy in this regard.