Go raibh míle maith agat. I appreciate having this time. The scourge of scramblers in Dublin North-West has not, unfortunately, let up. The number of scrambler and e-scooter-related accidents is on the rise again. A young garda was injured last week when stopping an e-scooter in Finglas, just a short distance from where poor Grace Lynch lost her life in January after being struck by a scrambler at a pedestrian crossing. Despite Grace’s law, scramblers are still scourging communities in my constituency such as Finglas and Ballymun and in other parts of the city. A resident of Finglas to whom I spoke earlier this week said that when they leave their house, it is completely normal to encounter multiple scramblers travelling at speed, often on one wheel, while weaving between traffic. This is particularly nerve-wracking when this person has their two young children with them. The issue is not confined to the roads and footpaths. Scramblers are used to transport and deal drugs in the local park, in the Tolka Valley Park, and cause fear and intimidation. Last week, I also attended a vigil to mark Grace Lynch's birthday in Finglas. I spoke to her parents, Martin and Siobhán, who are still grieving Grace. Martin told me that when they campaigned for Grace’s law, they did not expect that they would then have to campaign for its enforcement. It is to the Government’s shame and a failure of this State that parents grieving their daughter killed by a scrambler now have to campaign for the enforcement of this law. Today, Martin told me that nobody really understands the pain until it knocks on their door. They are calling for real action to prevent any other family from having to go through what they went through. I also want to highlight that John Joe O'Connell, the vice president of the GRA, said on Radio One this week that its members are tasked to intervene and stop the illegal use of scramblers and e-scooters but they just do not have the training, resources or protection to do that. That is the Garda Representative Association saying they do not have the resources. They need to be given the resources and training.

Sentiment score: -0.14

A key aspect the Lynch family asked for is pursuit training for gardaí. The GRA representative was on the radio saying they have no pursuit training. Gardaí are in the situation where they want to pursue and there is a law which says they should stop the use but they do not actually have the training to do it. That is a minimal, basic thing the Government could do now - roll out training of gardaí so they can pursue safely and not be followed up. We are seeing a ridiculous situation where gardaí are being arrested for pursuing, which is completely illogical. Gardaí need to be resourced properly. We want our communities to be safe. It is not fair or right that our most disadvantaged communities are most exposed to this lack of safety and the gardaí do not having the resources to do policing. We are concerned about the EU Presidency and the reduction in Garda resources as a result. Disadvantaged areas like Finglas and Ballymun should not be paying the price for that.

Sentiment score: -0.08