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MY HEART GOES out to the family and friends of Grace Lynch. The terrible tragedy last Sunday is the nightmare that so many of us have all been fearing and expecting for years. Any death in these circumstances is entirely preventable, and that reality makes this tragedy all the more unbearable.
For far too long, there has been too much of hands off approach to the dangerous and illegal use of scramblers, e-bikes and e-scooters. What was once shocking behaviour has slowly become normalised across working class communities.
Residents feel unsafe on their own streets. Parents fear letting their children walk or cycle locally. Pedestrians, older people and people with disabilities are afraid to walk around their communities. We cannot wait for another family to be devastated before the Government finally takes this issue seriously.
Public representatives and communities have been crying out for a comprehensive strategy to deal with this problem for years. The warnings have been clear and consistent. Yet the Government response has been half-hearted and painfully slow.
Nearly three years after commitments were made to regulate where these vehicles can be used, we still do not have a meaningful enforcement framework. We still do not have an operational policy on the use of drones. Instead, we have had endless consultations, vague promises and a steady passing of responsibility. It has been all talk, with very little real action on the ground.
We have seen the consequences of this failure before. The catastrophic injuries suffered by Ilabek Avetian in Coolock in 2018 should have been a wake-up call for the entire system. It should have prompted decisive action to protect the public. Instead, the problem has escalated. More recently, e-scooter related brain injuries now account for over 25 per cent of paediatric neurosurgical admissions in CHI at Temple Street in the past year alone. These are stark and frightening facts. They point clearly to a growing public safety crisis that is being allowed to continue unchecked.
We all know there is no magic wand to fixing this, but what we have learned from all the other social problems out there is that no one public body or person can sort this issue. We know that real change will only happen when we have a combination of Gardaí, local authorities, schools and families coming together to stamp out joy riding and intimidation in our communities. Grace’s death must be a watershed moment in how we deal with scramblers and other illegal vehicles on our streets and in our parks.
In order for that change to happen, radical action is needed. It is now critical that we introduce an immediate freeze on the use of all scrambler bikes across Ireland while a clear and comprehensive strategy is put in place. This is not an ideological position. It is a practical and proportionate response to a situation that has spiralled out of control.
Already, gardaí in my own constituency in Dublin’s north inner city have been doing really important work in terms of seizing scramblers and e-scooters used in the context of other illegality. But as soon as some scramblers are confiscated, more appear. More needs to be done.
Instead, we need to see a comprehensive system of road checks across communities where scramblers and high-speed e-scooters are known to be a scourge. Effectively, we need a freeze on the use of all scramblers. This must also include the mass confiscation of vehicles that do not meet regulations or that are being driven dangerously. For that to happen, we need more resourcing for policing operations like Operation Meacon, which target bikes being used for criminal activity, so that Gardaí can undertake more days of action and more seizures.
Dynamometer testing should be deployed at all Garda speed checkpoints in urban areas to identify illegally modified bikes that far exceed safe limits. These are practical measures that can make an immediate difference if the political will exists to implement them. Gardaí need to be resourced to do this. This is desperately needed while legislation and the Garda approach are properly worked out, enforced and resourced.
Gardaí themselves have been clear about the difficulties they face, particularly where many of those using scramblers, e-bikes and e-scooters are under 18. That complexity is real; the requirement for a proportionate response is very understandable given the dangers of pursuing a minor on a high-speed vehicle.
But communities have been clear — more needs to be done. Youths in urban areas of Dublin and other areas cannot be allowed to act with impunity on our streets. The absence of consequences only emboldens further dangerous behaviour. We also need to see targeted interventions by youth diversion projects to implement road safety programmes with young people who are at risk of or who engage in dangerous driving. We need to see a more robust and visible Garda response that prioritises public safety, restores confidence in our communities and reassures Gardaí that they have the support of the State and communities to more forcefully intervene. People’s lives depend on it.
There is also a role here for Dublin City Council in the design of our roads to ensure that they encourage road safety and deter dangerous scrambler bike use. There must be greater and proportionate utilisation of chicanes on long stretches of road to deter scramblers from having a free run to engage in dangerous driving and speeding.
We also need to confront the role of retailers and importers. There are serious questions about whether non-compliant vehicles are being sold under the guise of being off-road only, despite clear evidence that they are ending up on public roads, green spaces and housing estates. If there is a legislative gap that allows this to happen, it must be closed without delay. Public safety cannot be undermined by regulatory loopholes or weak oversight.
Other countries have shown that a stronger approach is possible. Our own neighbours in Europe have faced these issues for some time. In other areas, such as knife crime and knife amnesties, they have shown the kind of out-of-the-box thinking that might be required to address this issue. In Manchester, drone units have been deployed to track illegal use and support enforcement on the ground. In the Netherlands, authorities seize imported e-bikes that do not meet regulations. Here in Ireland, the Government has dragged its heels, leaving Gardaí without the tools they need and communities without the protection they deserve. We must also be willing to consider whether a dedicated Garda unit is required to tackle this issue in a focused and sustained way.
The tragic death of Grace Lynch must mark a turning point. An immediate freeze on scrambler use, decisive enforcement on the ground and a comprehensive national strategy are not optional extras. They are essential measures to protect lives.
If the Government continues to delay, to deflect and to downplay the urgency of this crisis, the risk is stark and unavoidable. More families will be devastated, more children will be injured, and more lives will be lost in circumstances that could and should have been prevented. That is a price our society cannot accept, and it is why action must be taken now.
Marie Sherlock is a Labour TD for Dublin Central.
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