National Vehicle and Driver File, Road Traffic and Roads Bill 2026: Second Stage
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-17
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Rory Hearne (SD), Dublin North-West

I also welcome the Bill. It is important, as my colleague said, we empower local authorities and the Road Safety Authority, RSA, to enhance their data-sharing arrangements. There are also other welcome aspects to the Bill.
I will pick up where my colleague left off and speak about my constituency. There is a serious crisis with the lack of enforcement. We have met and engaged with the parents of Grace Lynch, Martin and Siobhán, and I still engage with them on an ongoing basis. What is clear from speaking to them and constituents who contact me, and from speaking to people living in Ballymun and Finglas this week, is that despite the introduction of Grace's law, things are as bad as ever. One resident from Finglas I spoke to today said that every time they leave the house, they encounter a scrambler or a scrambler-type e-bike travelling dangerously on the roads, paths, green areas and parks. Last week, while they were on their way back from Tolka Valley Park on the Cardiffsbridge Road near Dunnes Stores, an individual wearing a balaclava came across the road in front of the traffic from Deanstown Avenue and onto the green opposite. The resident said it is intimidating and people in their cars look fed up. It is utterly unacceptable that this is still the case.
I met one of the assistant commissioners in An Garda Síochána last week who confirmed there is an issue around the EU Presidency with Garda resources being diverted away, that it does not have sufficient resources to implement and enforce and that is frustrating. It is accepted that communities such as Ballymun and Finglas need high-visibility policing to enforce these rules to ensure the communities are safe but it is not being delivered. They also need youth diversion programmes and support in that. It is frustrating that the issues of road safety in relation to e-scooters and scramblers in the community are as bad as ever and it is not right. It is not acceptable.
The concern is, as has been said, that this involves more promises without delivery. Injuries continue to happen. We have seen the figures from the hospitals. Grace Lynch's parents plead with us and the Minister of State to try to avoid another tragic death but it is still happening. We need to see more action and resourcing and, as my colleague, Deputy Farrelly, put forward, the idea of registering e-scooters seems like a sensible proposal. We need action on that and we need enforcement because every community has the right to be safe. Tá sé tuillte ag gach pobal a bheith sábháilte agus tá gá acu leis sin. Tá níos mó gardaí ag teastáil ó Bhaile Munna agus Fionnghlas chun é sin a chinntiú.
We need more gardaí on the ground to enforce but they need training. It is absolutely scandalous that only six gardaí will receive pursuit training before the end of the year. That is absolutely not acceptable. I will continue to push on this to ensure gardaí have sufficient resources and are trained and that our communities are safe. We know e-scooters and scramblers are being actively used in drug dealing and intimidation by drug gangs and the most vulnerable disadvantaged communities are bearing the brunt of that. They have as much a right to be safe as everyone else in the country so we need to see serious action on that.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-17/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-17