Dublin South Central TD slams plight of scramblers and quad bikes in Dáil

Dublin South-Central TD Patrick Costello wants an urgent crackdown on scramblers and quad bikes after a string of accidents, one which left a young toddler hospitalised following a crash between a scrambler and a quad bike in Cherry Orchard Park.

Commenting on the matter in the Dail today, Deputy Costello, who is the Green Party Spokesperson for Justice, said:

“2019 figures from the Road Safety Authority show that between 2014 and 2018, five people were killed in accidents involving at least one quad bike or scrambler.

“Of these, three were under the age 18.

“These loud, intimidating bikes are destroying the quality of life in many estates throughout the country, particularly communities I represent in Dublin South-Central.

“It has to stop.

“Streets and parks that should be local amenities enjoyed by all cannot be allowed to become no-go areas.”

Deputy Costello said it’s time legislaton was introduced to deal with the growing problem of scramblers.

“How many people need to be injured before we actually improve regulation around this area?” he said.

“It’s time to get tough and crack down on the use of scramblers and quad bikes before yet another person gets hurt.

“As far as I am concerned the only meaningful solution would be to implement legislative change to clamp down on the improper use of scramblers and quads and the anti-social behaviour linked to it.

“This is an issue local authorities are acutely aware of as it comes up regularly at all their meetings.

“Local authorities take as many preventative steps as they can to deal with this problem in terms of boundary treatments of parks but, regardless of the physical actions and engineering solutions they try to implement, they are not always successful.

“There is a serious issue with policing these vehicles and a need for increased regulation to help An Garda Síochánna do their job.

“Even when Gardaí do receive complaints, the users of these vehicles simply speed off-road to prevent Gardaí from taking any action.

“Gardaí are restricted under current legislation and can neither seize nor effectively police the use of these vehicles.

“We urgently need better regulation and to develop a multi-agency approach in order to tackle this antisocial behaviour effectively without requiring Gardaí to engage in potentially dangerous interception exercises. Riding a quad or scrambler bike in an antisocial and dangerous manner should be an offence under Ireland’s public order legislation.

“Another area we could look at is how we can regulate the sale and the authorisation of who can buy and own these bikes. When a car or a motorbike is bought, it has to have a logbook. Therefore, there is traceability of ownership and who has responsibility for it.

“It will be a priority of mine to ensure that increased regulation is introduced during the lifetime of this Government before a further person is needlessly hurt,” concluded Deputy Costello.