Hear, hear.

Sentiment score: 0.00

I want to start by saying that everybody who was involved in that tragic incident on North Earl Street this lunchtime is in my thoughts and prayers. I thank the first responders. They do not get enough thanks from us in this House for being there and assisting people at this tragic time. I also want to ask people to refrain from sharing images and videos on social media. I know somebody it happened to before and it is an absolutely horrible way to find out that a loved one was involved in a tragic incident. I ask people to refrain from doing that. As a father, I watched the heartbreaking reaction to the tragic death of 16-year-old Grace Lynch by a scrambler. Those of us who have represented communities that have been plagued by scramblers are not surprised. We have given the Government ample warning. In 2012, Teachta Dessie Ellis brought forward legislation to deal with scramblers in our communities. In recent times, Teachtaí Donnelly and Ellis and I again brought forward more legislation. Despite the efforts of some Government backbenchers, the Government did not put anything concrete in place. My area of Dublin Mid-West is just one of the neighbourhoods that has been terrorised by people on scramblers. They feel they can do what they want, when they want and how they want. It is not just scramblers that are causing problems in our communities. E-scooters are being driven recklessly and with impunity, often transporting drugs and cash for organised criminals. People coming off e-scooters are the leading cause of traumatic brain injuries presenting at the Mater hospital. The Government has said it will commit to looking at regulations for e-scooters and scramblers but they need to be comprehensive. We need to see what powers are going to be put in place for the Garda to be able to seize them. These are absolute weapons in the hands of wrong people. They are lethal weapons. We need to put everything in place that will take them off our streets. I want to talk about potholes. It is the first time I have brought them up in the Dáil. It is a big issue in Dublin Mid-West. I have lived in the area all my life and I have never seen the roads so bad. Driving through parts of Clondalkin and Lucan is like driving through an obstacle course trying to avoid potholes. The roads literally are in bits. Some people actually name the potholes in my community they are there that long. They get a temporary fix and then they reappear a couple of days later. You could drive down a road one day and if you drive down the same road the next day, a pothole could have magically appeared. I would invite the Minister of State for a drive around Dublin Mid-West but it would be a bumpy ride with the number of potholes we have. We drive on the left in Ireland but in Dublin Mid-West we drive on what is left. That is what someone said to me as that is how bad the roads are. It is getting even worse. Residents in my area pay their road tax like everybody else and the least they should have are safe roads.

Sentiment score: -0.16