A NEW LAW that aims to crack down on the use of scrambler bikes is “effectively unenforceable”, according to a member of the Garda Representative Association (GRA).

Grace’s Law, named after Grace Lynch (16) who lost her life in an incident with a scrambler bike in Dublin, came into effect this week.

It banned scrambler use in public places and public roads, and it gave gardaí enhanced powers of seizure to reduce the number of seized vehicles that end up back on the roads.

Speaking to Cork’s 96FM Opinion Line, Padraig Harrington of the GRA said that gardaí don’t have appropriate training to enforce the new law.

“The minute you start pursuing somebody… one of the questions that you will be asked is are you pursuit trained? And there is nobody who can answer yes to that,” he said. “Unless there’s an immediate threat to life… you will be stood down.”

Gardaí have consistently called for a separate professional driving license for emergency responders.

Currently, if a garda is involved in a road traffic collision on the job, they risk being prosecuted for dangerous driving and could lose their private driver’s license.

“There is no point in them implementing Grace’s law unless they can have it enforced. And at the moment, it can’t be enforced because there is no guard out there is willing to risk his own licence,” Harrington said.

Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly recently called for “legislative change” after a garda member was prosecuted for dangerous driving over an illegal scrambler chase.

He said that it does “not appear to me to be right” that a garda responding to a “really serious” call is treated the “exact same way” as an incident of “bad driving”.

Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien has said he will speak to the justice minister about legislating to allow gardaí to pursue scrambler bikes.