A comprehensive ban on scramblers in public areas will come into force within weeks, the Transport Minister has promised, following the death of a teenage girl in Dublin, reports Breaking News.
Darragh O’Brien obtained Cabinet approval on Wednesday to begin preparations for a complete ban, but said finalising the legal definition of a scrambler would take a “matter of weeks”, reports Breaking News.
The move follows the death of 16-year-old Grace Lynch, who was killed after an incident involving a scrambler bike in Finglas on January 25th.
Existing laws already prohibit the use of most scramblers in public places and outlaw dangerous driving of such vehicles in any location, reports Breaking News.
However, Mr O’Brien is now advancing new regulations to impose a total prohibition on scrambler use in public spaces and to enhance the enforcement powers available to gardaí.
The aim is to eliminate any remaining loopholes that may have allowed scramblers to be used legally outside designated off-road areas, reports Breaking News.
One element of the strengthened measures will relate to the “disposal” of scramblers that have been seized.
The ban is expected to take several weeks to implement, and ministers have proposed raising daily storage charges for seized vehicles in the meantime, reports Breaking News.
Mr O’Brien is developing the proposals in collaboration with junior ministers Sean Canney and Jerry Buttimer.
Earlier, the Tánaiste said he “doesn’t have a satisfactory answer” for the delay in bringing in earlier regulations banning scrambler motorbikes, reports Breaking News.
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Speaking to journalists outside Government Buildings on Wednesday morning, he said: “Scramblers are now being used to intimidate communities,
“They’re obviously posing a very significant danger in terms of road safety, and they have no place on public roads or in public spaces”, reports Breaking News.
Although the legislation underpinning the regulations was passed in 2023, political momentum to implement it only followed the teenager’s death.
When asked about the delay, Mr Harris described it as “not an acceptable situation” that the regulations had yet to be commenced, reports Breaking News.
He said: “This has gone on for quite a period of time. The Oireachtas passed a law, and that law did put a number of measures in place and those measures have had a positive impact in terms of giving the gardaí powers, reports Breaking News.
“There was provision in relation to banning them outright from public spaces, and it seems that that was never commenced. That’s not an acceptable situation, it predates the times of Minister O’Brien and Minister Canney, but our aim is to move forward in relation to this as quickly as possible”, reports Breaking News.
Also speaking on Wednesday morning, the Taoiseach confirmed the new regulations would be named in honour of Grace.
Micheál Martin said: “Grace’s mother said to me, she wanted it to be known as Grace’s Law, and that’s what it will be”, reports Breaking News.
Addressing the destruction of seized vehicles, Mr Harris said: “This can’t be a question of taking the scrambler off someone for a few hours and somebody going back and asking kindly ‘can I have it back?’,” reports Breaking News.
“And if you use a scrambler on a public road or public space that should be seized and that should be destroyed by An Garda Síochána, that is the intention”, reports Breaking News.
Mr O’Brien told RTÉ Radio on Wednesday that additional draft regulations covering e-bikes and e-scooters would be brought forward in the coming weeks.
He said the proposals would place particular emphasis on helmets, lighting and high-visibility clothing, reports Breaking News.
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