Written answers

Tuesday, 29 May 2018

Department of Justice and Equality

Transport Policy

Photo of Jack ChambersJack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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277. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the progress he has made with the Ministers for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Housing, Planning and Local Government, Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, the Garda Commissioner and other relevant agencies in identifying more effective possible solutions which can assist in dealing with the use of scrambler and quad bikes; the responsibilities he has assigned to each agency; the timeframe in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23133/18]

Photo of Charles FlanaganCharles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that a cross-agency meeting took place at my Department on 25 April 2018. The meeting was attended by officials from my Department; the Departments of Transport, Tourism and Sport; Housing, Planning and the Environment; and Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht; An Garda Síochána; the Road Safety Authority; and the Revenue Commissioners. My Department also met separately with a representative from Dublin City Council on 23 April.

The purpose of the cross-sectoral meeting was to ascertain whether there are additional legislative or other solutions, which 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.

I am advised that the meeting took account of a range of perspectives on the misuse of scramblers and quad bikes, and also considered the experiences currently being encountered in tackling this matter.

By way of next steps, my Department’s officials will engage with the Office of the Attorney General to obtain legal advice in relation to 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. Detailed correspondence to the Attorney General has been prepared and circulated to all of the meeting participants for their observations and will issue shortly.

My officials are also identifying issues to form the basis of further consultations 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 terms of assessing the contribution that such collaborative approaches can make to reducing the misuse of these vehicles.

An important element of this issue is the misuse of scramblers and quad bikes by minors. I am advised that the Road Safety Authority (RSA) intends to run a safety campaign later this year with the aim of discouraging those who may consider purchasing scramblers or quad-bikes as Christmas presents for minors. The RSA is currently considering the optimum time to launch this campaign. I might add that the RSA targets road safety awareness campaigns at young people throughout the school curriculum.

The Deputy will be aware that the supply of mechanically propelled vehicles to persons under 16 and 17 (depending on the vehicle) constitute offences under Section 30 of the Road Traffic Act 2004.

I remain committed to actively supporting any positive actions that can be pursued to counteract the serious public safety issues associated with the misuse of scramblers and quad bikes. 

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