COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF TALLAGHT AREA COMMITTEE
Monday, January 25, 2021
QUESTION NO.13
QUESTION: Councillor C. O'Connor
"To ask the Chief Executive if he appreciates the continued concerns of communities in respect of the menace of scramblers; will he confirm contacts and actions made in respect of the matter and will he make a statement."
REPLY:
In 2017 South Dublin County Council convened a taskforce consisting of SDCC, Dublin City Council, Fingal County Council, Dept of Justice, An Garda Siochana, the Road Safety Authority and Motocross Ireland to examine the issue of scramblers being driven in public parks and open spaces. Some of the issues which arose at meetings of the task force in 2017 and 2018 were that the Gardai do not currently have the power to pursue scrambler bikes, to stop them, to impound them, to pursue them to other locations and to question the owners and drivers about their movements. It was felt that these issues needed to be addressed by new legislation. Equally the Council has been unable to date to identify the drivers of these vehicles and to hold them responsible for damage caused to parks and open spaces. SDCC has contacted the Department of Justice seeking an update on the current position which will be provided to Members when received.
In parallel to the Council’s taskforce the Government put in place a cross departmental group to examine the issues at hand and in particular to examine the legal position with regard to existing legislation, with the assistance of the Attorney General’s Office. The legal advice provided by the Office of the Attorney General indicated that, in the main, current road traffic and public order legislation appears to provide sufficient means to police this issue. This view is shared by both the Department of Justice and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. The Department of Justice reconvened the cross-agency group in March to discuss this legal advice with members of An Garda Síochána (AGS); meeting with the Garda National Roads Policing Bureau (GNRPB), the Dublin Metropolitan Region (Tallaght District) and the Youth Diversion, Community Engagement & Public Safety Bureau and the general consensus was that new legislative powers are not required. In the absence of a need for new legislation, it is envisaged that an effective response to this anti-social behaviour will be informed by a combination of targeted enforcement measures, awareness raising, and youth engagement programmes. These measures will be progressed in conjunction with the relevant Departments and agencies. We have been assured by the Dept of Justice that both ministers and the Garda Commissioner remain committed to finding a workable solution to this problem and in this regard we have been informed that there have been some recent seizures/prosecutions under the Road Traffic Acts which included siezures of scramblers in a public park.
The council continues to liaise with the Department of Justice and has provided them with background information and data to assist them in formulating a response. We recently met a local garda Superintendent, who is agreeable to using whatever powers are currently at his disposal to deter scrambler use, SDCC will fully co-operate with these initiatives and have agreed to further meetings and support in this regard.
In addition to the work of the taskforce as outlined above the Council has completed a programme of boundary improvement works at locations where scramblers, quad bikes and stolen cars were gaining access to public parks. Substantial boundary improvement works have been carried out at Bancroft Park, Butler McGee Park, Jobstown Park, Tymon Park/Basketball Arena Road and at Dodder Valley Park. The construction of a reinforced concrete wall at the boundary of Killinarden Park and Knockmore Crescent and Drive was completed in 2020, as was he construction of a similar wall at St Cuthbert’s Park in Clondalkin. It is planned to complete the fencing around Jobstown Park in the current year.
In September 2020, the Minister for Justice responded to Dáil Quesion No. 744, which sets out the Government position with regard to possible legislative changes to address the issue of Quads and Scramblers. https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/question/2020-09-29/744/. The most recent information available would seem to indicate that the government intends to address the issue of legislation required in this regard in the coming months, and that new legislation will be introduced which will make the use of scramblers and quads on public roads illegal and will strictly regulate their use in off-road locations.
The Council supports An Garda Síochána's and the Road Safety Authority's Christmas public awareness campaign to highlight the dangers quad bikes and scramblers pose to children. www.rsa.ie