Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport for coming to the House this morning. The issue I wish to discuss covers two parts of the Minister's portfolio, sport and transport. The Minister is not the type of man who would wish to have any form of nanny state to over-regulate the sporting side of our lives. Both of us would agree that all sports should be allowed to take place, provided they do so in a correct and safe environment.The problem that has been brought to my attention relates to the use or misuse of scrambler motorcycles and quad bikes. I was quite shocked to learn that children as young as eight years of age are being given motorcycles of 50 cc and upwards which are essentially designed for use as off-road vehicles. Children are using these bikes and quads on main public highways and around housing estates. When I researched this matter, I learned that the Enniskerry Woods area and some of the public pathways in Enniskerry are being recommended as places where children can learn to use quad bikes as long as they are aware of the presence of pedestrians. It is clear that this is not a safe environment for kids to be using these vehicles. I have also found that these bikes are being used on main roads in places like Tallaght and Finglas.

As these bikes have no registration, no tax and no insurance, a garda who sees one of them on the road has no way of identifying the owner. If one of these vehicles runs into a bus or a car, the likelihood is that the person driving the vehicle will be killed and, more importantly, will cause risk to the life and limb of others. One can imagine what would happen if a Garda car or motorcycle pursued an eight year old kid driving one of these vehicles through an estate. If the child was injured, the Garda would come under immediate scrutiny from the general public, which would want to know why the child was chased. Although this is not a huge problem, it is a serious one. These things are typically allowed to run. I accept that this did not start on the Minister's watch. It has been going on for a long time. I have been asked by local authority members to call on the Minister to introduce some form of regulation to control how these bikes are being used and to provide for some form of recognition of who owns them and where they belong. Some form of identification mark would allow us to track down the users of these vehicles. We need to provide for some means of ensuring they are not used on the road. If they are used on the road, the full rigours of the law should apply. I thank the Minister for coming to the Seanad to listen to what I have to say on this issue. I look forward to his response.