It is just over three months since the introduction of Grace’s Law, the regulations which banned the use of scrambler motorbikes and quads in all public places following the death of 16-year-old Grace Lynch in Finglas in January. The law closed a glaring loophole and was rightly welcomed. But as Tuesday’s Oireachtas justice committee meeting heard, it is already clear that more needs to be done.
Grace’s parents, Siobhán and Martin Lynch, whose dignified campaign brought the legislation into being, told the committee that a law which cannot be enforced means nothing. They want far tighter restrictions on the sale of these machines, which remain easier to purchase than everyday painkillers, with registration at the point of sale and financial responsibility placed on the parents of underage riders. They want gardaí properly equipped and trained for the task, a dedicated off-road policing unit, and legal protection for officers who pursue riders who fail to stop.
An Garda Síochána can point to some progress. More than 1,000 scramblers, e-bikes and e-scooters were seized in the first quarter of this year alone, a dramatic increase on 2025. Commissioner Justin Kelly is also right to argue that enforcement alone will not solve the problem and that prevention, education and community engagement must form part of any lasting response. Yet the gaps he acknowledges are troubling. Gardaí receive no dedicated pursuit training, and members who give chase risk prosecution and the loss of their own driving licences if a collision occurs. The Government’s stated willingness to consider statutory indemnity for officers acting reasonably should be converted into legislation.
There are lessons to be learned from experiences elsewhere. Police in Britain and Northern Ireland increasingly use drones and air support to track riders to storage locations rather than chase them through streets, while new powers allow seized vehicles to be crushed within 48 hours. Both approaches are worth studying here.
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The scrambler problem sits within a wider and growing unease about lawlessness on two wheels. A new generation of powerful e-bikes and e-scooters, many capable of speeds far beyond legal limits and easily modified after purchase, now share footpaths, cycle lanes and roads with pedestrians. There is little evidence that the policing of power and speed limits is keeping pace.
The great majority of e-bike and e-scooter users are law-abiding, and these technologies are making a valuable contribution to the transition to greener transport. But that transition requires a parallel modernisation of regulation and enforcement. The most pressing task is confronting the antisocial and life-threatening behaviour of those who criminally misuse these vehicles.
