Scramblers should not be allowed on public roads, Sean Canney says

By Cillian Sherlock, Press Association

Scramblers should not be permitted in any public place or road, the minister for road safety has said.

It comes after a teenage girl died in the Finglas area of Dublin following a crash involving a scrambler on Sunday.

Minister of State Sean Canney said the Government’s sympathies were with the “heartbroken” family and friends of teenager Grace Lynch.

Asked when law prohibiting or restricting scramblers in particular areas would come into effect, Mr Canney said he has sought an “early date” from Department of Justice officials for when that regulation will be in place.

“The legislation there already, which came in in 2023, says dangerous driving becomes an offence on any ground, not just in a public place – it is any place.

“Also that gardaí have the power to seize the offending machines.”

Asked where they should be banned, he said: “Scramblers should not be permissioned in any public space in this country, I fail to see why we need to have them in public spaces.”

He said this “absolutely” included roads.

Pressed on whether this belief would be in the regulations drawn up by Government officials, he said he would be looking at the matter “very closely” with his officials.

Mr Canney said gardai and the Department of Justice are working on a code of practice for the use of drones to track scramblers to make sure it is “foolproof” against legal objections.

The independent TD added that he had instructed local authorities to introduce bylaws to reduce speed limits in urban areas from 50kmh to 30kmh by the end of the year.