I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Canney. His taking this Commencement matter shows the seriousness with which he is taking the issue. The events of 25 January 2026 are permanently etched in our memories and, more importantly, in the memories of the heartbroken family of Grace Lynch, the beautiful 16-year-old schoolgirl who was tragically mown down by someone who, we can only presume, was driving an illegal scrambler in a treacherous manner on a road in Finglas.

Three days later, the Government has moved with absolute unity to say these machines, which are lethal in the wrong hands, have no place on our roads, on our housing estates or in any public space. However, let us be clear: those scramblers last Sunday should never have been on the road in the first place. The fact the riders believed otherwise speaks volumes about apparent gaps until now in deterrence and enforcement. I welcome the decisive action in the past three days. It is worth remembering that these restrictions were introduced as far back as 2023. The law existed but what seems to have been missing is proper enforcement.

In towns and cities right across the country, scramblers have been used for antisocial behaviour and criminal activity for years. Too often, they are driven with no fear of consequences, and that must end immediately. I first raised this issue in the Chamber last April after working with families in east Meath who had been terrorised by scramblers on their estates. In one case, a child was struck by a scrambler but, fortunately, not seriously injured. In another instance, a child narrowly missed serious injury by a scrambler coming through the front gate of the garden in which the child was playing. I have also worked with residents in Ballsgrove, Drogheda, where scramblers tear through residential areas morning, noon and night, including at a pedestrian crossing used daily by children from Marymount National School.

We need to work with parents to deter the purchase of scramblers for youngsters where they clearly will not be used for sporting pursuits. The message must be clear that these vehicles are not welcome on any public road or space and parents should not buy them for their child. It is heartening that in 2024 and 2025, more than 250 scramblers were seized by An Garda Síochána. We must back the force fully in law and with resources to remove every single one of these machines from our streets and confine them to designated safe tracks, where they belong.

I was really happy to support my colleague Senator Fitzpatrick at the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting last night not only on the ban itself but on her proposal for a scrambler amnesty, which she mooted only hours after last Sunday's tragedy. Some of these vehicles may have been bought in good faith but they should never be used on public roads. A mechanism for a refund of up to 90% within six months, 70% up to 12 months and 50% up to two years is a practical way to get these machines off our roads. There is also the issue of storage. Anyone who knows where one of these vehicles is being kept should contact the local Garda station or the confidential Garda telephone line at 1800 666 111. Every single one of these machines must be removed from streets, estates and back gardens.

A wider conversation needs to take place about e-scooters and electric bikes, many of which are also being used for illegal activities or antisocial behaviour by underage riders. Anything with an engine belongs in a proper licensing, insurance, taxation and testing regime. I look forward to hearing from the Minister of State about the immediate enforcement timeline and the operational details. Grace Lynch's family, and every family across the country, really deserves to hear this.

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. I convey my sincere sympathy to the family and friends of the late Grace Lynch, who was so tragically killed at a pedestrian crossing as she was out for a walk. It is unbearable to think people are not safe while out walking like that. There is an onus on us all as public representatives to tackle the issues in this regard.

I will clarify a few issues that may be causing confusion for the public. The Road Traffic and Roads Act, which was enacted in June 2023, provided enhanced enforcement powers for the Garda in respect of antisocial behaviour by riders of scramblers. The Act introduced three key measures in relation to scramblers. In combination, those measures have substantially prohibited the use of scramblers in public places and their dangerous use anywhere. I want to be clear that there is no lawful reason for most scramblers to be on our public roads and that An Garda Síochána has the relevant enforcement powers it needs to police compliance with the legislation, as I shall outline.

The 2023 Act made dangerous driving an offence everywhere, whereas it had previously been an offence only in public places. The Act also enhanced the Garda's powers of vehicle seizure such that members of the force have the power to seize a scrambler being driven dangerously in any location. Moreover, members of An Garda Síochána can enter the curtilage of a dwelling to seize a scrambler. This allows them to seize a vehicle that was detected earlier. High-speed pursuits may endanger gardaí and the drivers of those vehicles, meaning it may be necessary to seize the vehicle later, when it is safer to do so. In 2024, gardaí seized 124 scramblers. The latest figures show that by the end of October 2025, they had seized another 113 scramblers. The third key measure in the Act is that it enables the Minister for Transport to make regulations to prohibit or restrict the use of certain classes of vehicles in particular places.

These three provisions should be read together, given their interlinked nature. They were all commenced by SI 392/2023 in July 2023. Since that date, it has been an offence to drive dangerously anywhere and An Garda Síochána has had the necessary enforcement powers to seize a vehicle that is being driven dangerously. While the commencement of the third provision created regulation-making powers to restrict certain classes of vehicles, any such regulations will be incremental on the other restrictions, and no regulations have yet been made.

My Department has been conducting stakeholder consultation on the potential content of any additional regulations in terms of what might be added to the existing prohibitions and restrictions. The regulations are at an advanced stage of development. I have made it clear, on the public record and with my officials, that I want to be presented with these regulations for signature as a matter of urgency. Following a Government meeting yesterday, I can confirm that the Government has agreed to introduce regulations to ban the use of scramblers on public roads and in public places and a memorandum outlining this will be brought to the Cabinet in the coming weeks.

Stakeholder consultation is a normal part of making any regulations under the Road Traffic Acts to help ensure they are practically enforceable and provide the required powers to achieve a given road safety end. While An Garda Síochána is a key partner, given its exclusive role in enforcement, impacts on the Courts Service must also be considered.

The Road Traffic and Roads Act provided significant enhanced enforcement powers for the Garda in relation to scramblers. In effect, these provisions ensure the Garda has the powers to enforce dangerous driving laws with respect to scramblers and seize dangerously driven vehicles, whether a scrambler is being driven on a public road, in a public space or in a private space. As a matter of urgency, my Department is progressing regulations to further strengthen the existing legal position and provide additional enforcement powers for An Garda Síochána.

I welcome the decisive action that has been taken in the past couple of days. The statistics the Minister of State mentioned regarding seizures in the past two years are probably cold comfort to the families of Grace Lynch and Jason Monks and, indeed, those of the eight fatalities arising from the use of e-scooters, e-bikes and quad bikes over the past couple of years. We need to see enforcement in the coming days and weeks. People must have confidence in the new restrictions. Even in the past few days, I have heard from people in my own town and county that near misses are still happening.

They can still hear scramblers on the estates and local fields. The message has clearly not got through to those using the scramblers. That is what we have to make sure is happening. There has to be a fear of consequences now. We need to see that decisive action in the next couple of weeks. I look forward to that.

There are a few elements to this. There is the legislation, enforcement and then we come back to the basic question about antisocial behaviour. It is important that we act on all of this across government. As I outlined earlier, we have agreed to introduce regulations that ban the use of scramblers on public roads and in public spaces. That memo will come to the Government in the coming weeks.

Under the 2023 Act, dangerous driving is an offence everywhere, not just in public spaces. The Act also empowers members of the Garda to seize a scrambler if the Garda member's reasonable belief is that the vehicle has been, is being or will be driven dangerously in any location. While the use of scramblers on the roads may be legal in certain cases at the moment before this regulation is updated, it is always an offence to drive them dangerously. Gardaí have enforcement powers to stop and seize the vehicle where this is the case. There is another issue relating to the gardaí seizing the machine. What happens with the machine then? We are looking at that as well. The Senator mentioned consequences. One of the consequences is in relation to what happens with the scrambler - the offending machine - that has been seized. That is something that we are actively looking at.

I wish to stress this for the general public. Gardaí have powers of enforcement right now. They can stop people and they can bring people to court. They can seize these if they are being driven dangerously. The active ongoing enforcement of the legislation by gardaí will be a significant deterrent to those using vehicles illegally and in an antisocial manner. I welcome that gardaí have been seizing these scramblers over the past two years. The legislation that was introduced in 2023 has been enacted and it is being enforced. Maybe there has not been enough enforcement. An Garda Síochána has had numbers that were not the required numbers. The numbers are building. As the numbers of gardaí are building, we will see more and more coming into road traffic policing.

I am doing a promotion of driving safety for this weekend. It is a bank holiday weekend. My plea to the public is no matter if they are in a car, truck, van or on a bicycle or motorbike or whatever form of transport they have, they have a personal responsibility as well. It is important that people remember why they are going on a journey. They are going on a journey to get to a destination. That is the primary objective. Some cars are like offices and cinemas. They have all kinds of screens and so on in the cars. These are distractions. The mobile phone is a distraction. I have asked people, young and old, when they get into a car to check their surroundings, put on their seat belts, put their mobile phones in the glove compartment and tell their passengers not to use their phones while they are in the car. It could be a passenger that says to a driver, "Look what's on the phone." The driver will get to see that when they arrive at their destination. The primary purpose of using transport is to get from A to B safely.

The Senator mentioned education. Next week, the Road Safety Authority, RSA, will present in the audiovisual room. I hope that all Oireachtas Members will attend. It shows what is being done, how it is being done and making people aware of all the work that is going on in terms of education at preschool level, national school, secondary school, transition year and third level education. The RSA and safety officers around every local authority are engaging in all of this. It is important that we keep telling people and reminding them that they need to be safe on the roads. It should be an agenda item for every meeting. For young fellas and girls coming together to train for football, hurling, camogie, soccer, rugby or whatever it may be, the last item on the agenda after a training session should be, "Take care going home. By the way, I see you don't have a hi-vis jacket, here is one." They are available. The RSA will provide them. Small things matter. As public representatives, it is important that we continue to encourage people to do the right thing.

I thank the Senator for tabling this Commencement matter. I think of the parents and family this week and what they are going through. Again, I offer my sincere sympathies on behalf of the Government, the Department and everybody in Ireland on such a tragic loss of a beautiful young girl.