Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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319. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 287 of 28 November 2017, the position regarding the promised liaison between his Department, An Garda Síochána and other relevant stakeholders to address the issue of nuisance quad bike and scrambler use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12124/18]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I share the Deputy's concern in relation to the serious public safety issues associated with the misuse of scramblers and quad bikes, and my concerns are on the public record of this House. 

As the Deputy will be aware, a multi-agency approach is required to tackle this anti-social issue effectively. To facilitate this, I have written to the relevant Government Departments and State agencies in order to ascertain whether there are additional legislative or other solutions which can assist in dealing with this serious issue more comprehensively.

Following the receipt of responses from all agencies concerned, my Department wrote to all bodies again on 14 February 2018 to confirm the scheduling of a meeting on 28 February 2018 to discuss the misuse of scramblers and quad bikes with a view to identifying more effective possible solutions and determining responsibility and timeframes for implementation.

The Deputy will appreciate that this meeting had to be cancelled at the last minute due to the severe weather conditions that beset the country in late February/early March. This meeting has now been rescheduled for 25 April 2018.

I can assure the Deputy that I will continue to promote cross-agency engagement in relation to this important public safety issue.