Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
GARDAÍ AND DUBLIN City Council, as well as the Department of Transport, are in discussions around proposed new laws which could see gardaí being able to effectively clampdown on quad bikes and scramblers.
There is serious concern for the safety of those who use the vehicles as well as for those who are in the vicinity of the bikes which are often driven by people with little to no experience of driving.
Currently, gardaí can only intervene when the bikes are being driven erratically on public roads or footpaths.
Now it has emerged that gardaí have also been advised by management not to pursue people on these vehicles as doing so may lead to injury or accident.
Government at both national and local level have been developing a number of strategies to combat the misuse of the vehicles and the anti-social behaviour associated with them.
Last year, 62 people were seriously injured in incidents relating to the vehicles. Residents in a number of communities have described how scrambler and quad bikes are becoming more common.
Armenian man Ilabek Avetian suffered devastating injuries earlier this year after being struck by a scrambler while sunbathing with his wife in a park in Darndale on the city’s northside.
Avetian lost an eye and suffered brain injuries as a result of the crash, with the public coming together to raise €30,000 for him and his wife once his story came to light.
Avetian’s partner Angela told of the devastation the incident caused to Ilabek.
She told the Sean O’Rourke Show on RTÉ Radio One: “My husband lived here for over five years and was working. All the time he told me about Ireland and that it is beautiful here. One month later – we decided to go to park and when we went to the park we were on the hill – we didn’t see him (the driver) because of light on my face. The motorbike ran over his face. At first I thought – Ilo – what happened – his face is all opened. His blood is on me. I saw the driver and I said what have you done – you killed the man – he looked at us and went.
I had a meeting with doctors – they say – if he live he will be in a vegetative situation. He lost his left eye, his nose is broken on both sides. I go and see him every day. I am living in the hospital. Each nurse and doctor knows he is there.
The biggest problem in relation to quad and scrambler bikes is the lack of legislation around them. Under the 1961 Road Traffic Act, a public road means a road which the road authority is responsible for maintaining.
There have been calls for more clarity around what that means.
Sinn Féin TD Dessie Ellis has urged for the extension of the definition of public space in the road traffic act to “include parks, greens and unused ground”, as well as providing gardaí “the ability to impound quads and bikes that are used illegally in private property”.
According to the Joint Policing Parks Subcommittee: “Dublin City Council, in conjunction with the other Dublin authorities, An Garda Síochána and the Department of Justice and Equality, is also considering the options to deal with the danger caused by the use of Quad bikes / scramblers within park grounds as the existing legislation has limited power to enforce such issues, permitting An Garda Síochána to take action only if they are being driven erratically on public roads/footpaths. Members of the force are advised not to pursue quad bikes due to risk of accident / injury to users and bystanders.”
City planners believe that these vehicles will still be used, regardless of legislation that is in place. For this reason, they are exploring the option of building a designated area where these bikes can be driven. But the biggest stumbling blocks to this project are insurance and health and safety issues.
Gardaí have received a number of reports about close calls and violations regarding the use of these vehicles in recent times, including children as young as eight driving them.
There have also been a number of fatalities involving the vehicles, including two people who died on Christmas Day.
Leroy Coyle, 19, died in a scrambler crash on Christmas Day in 2013. The incident happened on the Ballybough Road near Croke Park. In 2015, Warren Kenny, 16, died on Christmas Day after the scrambler he got as a present was involved in a crash in Cherry Orchard, Ballyfermot, west Dublin.
There is cross-party support for a ban on the vehicles.
Dublin City councillor Noeleen Reilly said that “there is a real breakdown in the law and communities are being held to ransom”.
Social Democrats’ councillor Cian O’Callaghan said: “The misuse of quad bikes and scramblers has been allowed to reach epidemic proportions in many communities.”
He added that it’s “not unusual to see children as young as seven or eight racing around housing estates and in public open spaces and parks, posing a huge danger to themselves as well as pedestrians and road users”.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Alot he fking knows…theyre on another planet the lot of them..whats the alternative to oil, gas or coal without extortionate expenses to fit solar or the next energy source..they’ve jumped the gun with this one and offered no incentive to switch to cleaner energy sources…and yes I know there are grants in place but its not enough…if they want to make an impression, then don’t take money off people to justify it saving the planet.. Build a proper program outlining the options for people, a cost effective solution instead of take take take.
@Craig Clancy: People simply cannot afford grants, costs to much to upgrade systems. Initial outlaw is to much,
@Craig Clancy: Grants are part of the give. Green energy such as wind is subsidised. What’s your great plan to reduce pollution without hitting people’s pockets?
@Dave Barrett: I would love to go solar or any other viable resource but as you pointed out it’s too expensive even with the grant..how much was it for all those water meters that are due to need upgrading soon? Surely they could of put that money towards a nationwide energy campaign..biggest tax take last year and still the roads are in $hite, homelessness is rampant still, hospitals over run and understaffed but yet they still suck us dry of every extra cent we try use to survive…its going to hit a boiling point soon and some one will take matters in to their own hands.
@Mickety Dee: how about stop taking more and more money off people and give them a chance to actually switch over or upgrade..they ran this way too quick and gave no viable plan for anyone, absolutely no incentive to switch over..literally said here are your options off you go now hurry before we start taking just that little squeeze more off you…how is it our fault that they’re are not other things in place…start by fixing the appalling public transport, focus more on helping people change over to solar rather than punish them for not having it, work with the people..thats the problem they are so detached from reality its frightening.
@Craig Clancy: Irish people lack back bone. Yellow vests needed.
@Craig Clancy: need to take vat off renewables!
@Aidan Conway: alot more than take the vat off.
@Dave Barrett: well anyone who protests is called an extremist or anti vaxer or a crazy person by the media, or protesting is made illegal like the truckers one in Canada. Not much the normal person can do anymore to oppose anything.
The main reason for cost of living rises is we dont have a regulator to question why everything is on the rise
Oh wait a minute we do have a regulator .
He must have fallen asleep like Eamonn and everything went up when his eyes were closed.
@Stephen Carslake: That’s not the reason for increases. Read the media of any country in the world and you’ll see that.
The Irish energy regulator does not influence prices in the US, UK, Germany, Spain, Turkey, France, Italy etc etc
Our energy regulator may make dubious calls but they are not the sole reason for the price increases.
@Lee King Buckett: they’re allowing energy companies raise standing charges, which are nothing to do with global energy supplies. The bill increases can be excused for global rises, but there’s no reason for raising standing charges other than opportunistic greed which is where the regulator should step in .. but doesn’t!
@Rob Gale: Agreed but as per the original comment that’s not ‘the main reason’ for price increases.
The main reason is a global energy crisis, the standing charge increase is gouging but not major.
@Lee King Buckett: I’m not sure about the gas suppliers, but:
ESB Networks are managing/maintaining the whole electricity infrastructure and (most/a lot of) the production.
I would guess, that’s covered with the standing charges, or at least the major chunk of it? IF they increased the charges to Energia, Airtricity, or whoever, they will only pass the charges on to the customer, I guess?
You have to laugh that the Green Party under Eamonn Ryan seemingly sacrificed all of their principles in government on areas like greyhound racing, hare coursing, neutrality, direct provision etc in exchange for this carbon tax that would ultimately become redundant through global events and fudged away from making a difference.
Brilliant stuff Green TDs, you’ve achieved nothing in government other than providing the necessary numbers for FF & FG to implement their policies. Bravo.
This is literally bizzare, as in really really bizzare, one of the main exporters of oil/gas IE Russia is all but closing its supply to Europe, causing massive price increases across the board. I am no expert here at all, but Eamonn do you think I would be paying over the odds if I had an alterative way to get said energy? There is no alteratives even remotely ready to take over. Even if I installed a 10kW solar system with battery, it still needs subbing from the grid, which is again, gas powered for the most part. Also, in saying that, I am just talking about household energy useage. I have no idea about farms, but what I do know is all that farm machinary is fuel based, what alternatives have been given to farmers, that’s just one industry. Also, yet again, moving everything to electric based is putting massive pressure on the national grid, which again is still massively gas based on the back end and is nearly keeling over with 15/20 odd data centres in the mix and Eamonn and co think this same grid is ready to handle the entire country going fully electric. Seriously, what plannet is this lad on.
@Dave.: Also, I just want to add. Seriously, when are the Irish people actually going to get up and march on the Dail, this is not right. How can it be, as one poster pointed out, fuel prices have increased so much that its has actually bettered any increase the Carbon Tax would yeild, yet goverment still continue to push for more increases. Are we really as a nation going to sit down and take this no problem?
@Dave.: Russia has not reduced gas or oil supplies to Europe at all. Ireland gets its gas from Scotland.
The war in Ukraine has resulted in speculative increases in oil but gas has reduced in price in the last 5 weeks. The causes of energy price spikes predate the war in Ukraine.
Other than that, you’re correct about the lack of alternatives and the fact that a carbon tax won’t reduce usage at all.
They will put the Tax on To Keep Ryan on Board and then give it Back some other Way What Load of Bollicks
The whole point of a carbon tax is to disincentivise (or in our case more likely to avoid EU fines). For gas and oil, the price has already risen high enough to disincentivise. Adding any more money is just making poor people poorer.
Also, how can Irish people be disincentivised to use a car when we have the worst public transport infrastructure in Western Europe? We have very few safe bike lanes (and those that we have abruptly end for no reason). Even in Dublin.
Its just a load of virtue signalling and kicking the can down the road. Like the paper straws, none of this is going to make any sort of meaningful difference. What we need is major investments in renewables, investment in our public transport and cycling infrastructure, and much more. Not a bunch of new taxes.
@Tomo: Avoid EU fines ??? This State pay the EU fines every year because they are charging the Irish motorists VRT which is outlawed by the EU .. so they know exactly what they are doing.. Instead of taxing the public Carbon Tax, they should be heavily investing in the ESB to help them build multiple wind farms…and not giving out subsidies to private companies
Where are all the FF/FG/GP middle leg huggers today? Very quiet…surely it’s hitting home to them on the failure of their parties?
Az if things were not expensive enough, soon enough a car owner wont be able to afforx to fuel a car pay for home heating.surely the government can off put this raise.
The easiest way to offset the burden of the tax is not to introduce it due to the current circumstances. But they will go on and on with all kinds of waffle just to keep the Greens on board. Personally I have lost all faith in FF and FG.
I wonder what the US multinationals are paying for electricity for all the data centers that are gobbling up loads of out electricity. I’d bet they pay seriously less that the average person. All new data centers and other non essential type IT should be paused until this is under control. Our citizens can’t afford food or electricity but we have many times redundancy in our data storage incase of a few mins outage on watching netflix. Great priorities we have in the 21st century.
have your say