New laws to ensure ‘scramblers’ are not used in an anti-social way

the Cabinet has agreed a package of measures from the Department of Transport and the Department of Justice to deal with the misuse of quads and scramblers, especially in an anti-social context.

The new laws will not affect private land (where there is permission for use of MPV by the landowner) and therefore these measures will not have an impact on farming. “These measures are designed to target the anti-social misuse of these powerful machines, not to impact on their legitimate use by the farming community on their private land” stated Justice Minister Helen McEntee.

Minister McEntee continued: “The Department of Transport and the Department of Justice have agreed to continue to explore other ideas, with the relevant stakeholders, through an interdepartmental group on scramblers chaired by the Department of Justice. One of these matters will be possible registration of off-road vehicles.”

However the Minister highlighted that enforcement is not the only approach to tackling the scrambler problem. "The Department recognises that education is also vital. The Department of Justice is leading on the development of proposals for community-based projects that could be rolled out in areas most affected by anti-social use of scramblers and quads. The purpose would be to provide safe and positive opportunities, including training and personal development modules, for young people who are interested in these vehicles for sport and recreational use."

Minister McEntee highlighted that it is already an offence to supply a mechanically propelled vehicle to a minor. A person who gives, lends, or sells a scrambler to a minor is liable to prosecution and to a fine of up to €5,000 and/or up to 6 months in prison. An Garda Síochána will move to enforce this more, and get the message about this offence across during community engagement, as it could be a serious deterrent to people who give or lend scramblers to minors.

Minister McEntee concluded: “These measures will have a positive effect in tackling the misuse of scramblers and quads and the Government has agreed to explore further what additional measures might further address the anti social problem.”

The package of measures agreed by Cabinet are:

A new offence to be created for using a mechanically propelled vehicle (MPV)

• Use of a MVP will be prohibited on public or private land, except in cases where there is permission from the landowner.

• The use of MPV in public places is already regulated, and the Garda have extensive powers to address their misuse in those cases

• However, the places where anti-social use is a problem are generally not public places in terms of road traffic law

• These are places such as beaches, parks, green areas, waste ground, and others.

• The new offence will clamp down on the use of quads and scramblers in these areas

• It will not affect private land (where there is permission for use of MPV by the landowner) and therefore will not have an impact on farming

• The fact that permission of the land owner is provided for means that vehicles which are legitimately allowed – for example, council maintenance vehicles in parks, or indeed scramblers used in legitimate and approved events such as motocross – will not be affected

Garda powers to detain a vehicle used in violation of the new prohibition

• An Garda Síochána will be given the power to detain a vehicle used in violation of the new prohibition

Garda powers to detain a vehicle used in violation of the new prohibition

• An Garda Síochána will be allowed, on a warrant, to enter private premises and remove a vehicle suspected of having been used contrary to the new ban

• This will enable the Garda to detain vehicles in circumstances where they were not able to detain it at the time of the offence

• The vehicle cannot be reclaimed unless a person can prove ownership. This can be difficult at present as, while some of these vehicles are registered where they meet the standards of on-road vehicles, others which are designed and sold for off-road sports use only may not be. A minor cannot reclaim a vehicle as they cannot legally own an MPV, while an adult who tries to reclaim a vehicle used by a minor is liable to prosecution for providing it to a minor.