Sinn F\u00e9in<\/a> leader Mary Lou McDonald<\/a> was speaking in the D\u00e1il<\/a> two days after Grace was \u201cmown down\u201d by a scrambler bike as she was crossing the road in the north Dublin<\/a> suburb of Finglas.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was 16. A young woman with her whole life ahead of her. The apple of her father\u2019s eye and her mother\u2019s pride and joy. Killed on the road in her own community as she went about her everyday 16-year-old life. <\/p>\n \u201cEvery parent\u2019s worst nightmare. Every family\u2019s worst nightmare. Every young person\u2019s worst nightmare.\u201d<\/p>\n A subdued D\u00e1il contemplated that harrowing reality on Tuesday. <\/p>\n \u201cScrambler bikes have been the scourge of working-class communities in Dublin and beyond for years. Neighbourhoods being terrorised by antisocial behaviour involving these bikes is nothing new,\u201d Deputy McDonald told the Taoiseach during Leaders\u2019 Questions, accusing his government of failing to listen to communities dealing with this menace and \u201cdragging its heels\u201d on the law.<\/p>\n \u201cHer death cannot be in vain, because Grace Lynch matters. What happened to her matters. What happens next really matters. The Government must act\u201d<\/p>\n Labour<\/a> leader Ivana Bacik<\/a> also demanded immediate action to address what is a \u201cnationwide problem\u201d involving scramblers and quad bikes. What happened in Finglas was down to \u201ca failure of enforcement, a failure of regulation, a failure of political will and a lack of urgency in tackling this\u201d. <\/p>\n While the Government<\/a> finally brought in legislation in 2023, she reminded him that of the shocking case of Ilabek Avetian, who suffered catastrophic injuries<\/a> in a Dublin park back in 2018 when he was hit by a scrambler bike. <\/p>\n That should have been the wake-up call for action. <\/p>\n The death of Grace Lynch must be that \u201cwatershed moment\u201d now, said Ivana.<\/p>\n \u201cHer death cannot be in vain,\u201d said Mary Lou.<\/p>\n Both leaders agreed that action is what matters now. <\/p>\n The nightmare of Sunday\u2019s horrific collision has shocked the Government into immediate action. <\/p>\n Miche\u00e1l Martin<\/a>, accepting that the final parts of the legislation should have been addressed sooner and the necessary regulation introduced to facilitate them, was uncompromisingly decisive. <\/p>\n He has a tendency sometimes to talk around issues. He is fond of a taskforce. He likes a scoping committee. He is partial to the multi-agency approach. These things can take time. <\/p>\n Time that Grace Lynch didn\u2019t have. <\/p>\n A ban on scrambler bikes may not have saved her life. We will never know. But it may have. <\/p>\n \u201cThose final regulations need to be dealt with \u2013 they should have been,\u201d said the Taoiseach, making no excuses. \u201cIt will happen.\u201d<\/p>\n He knew \u2013 as everyone else in the chamber knew, that words are no consolation. <\/p>\n \u201cNothing that I can say can, in any way, ease the devastation, the pain, the hurt, the anger that Grace\u2019s family feels right now.\u201d<\/p>\n He spoke haltingly, but there was a directness in his replies that aren\u2019t always so clear during the combative back and forth of Leaders\u2019 Questions. <\/p>\n \u201cThere is no need, there should be no scramblers on public roads,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cWe have it within our power to make that happen. And it will happen.\u201d<\/p>\n [\u00a0\u2018Nobody is listening to us\u2019: Upset and anger in Finglas following death of Grace Lynch (16)Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n It was the Sinn F\u00e9in leader, flanked by local Finglas TD Dessie Ellie<\/a>, who conveyed the anger of sick and tired residents who have to put up with the constant fear, danger and disruption caused by people \u201crunning amok\u201d in working-class areas.<\/p>\n The Taoiseach said he had heard the anger from the community.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd we are going to act.\u201d<\/p>\n He will act in the case of the specialist Garda<\/a> drone unit set up to tackle the scramblers which hasn\u2019t seen a day\u2019s action since it was established a number of years ago. <\/p>\n He has already been on to the Garda Commissioner, Justin Kelly<\/a>. He will take \u201ca more intensive approach\u201d to pursuing the policy. He was convening an \u201cimmediate\u201d meeting of the relevant Government departments \u2013 Justice and Transport \u2013 \u201cto just get this done\u201d.<\/p>\n He will ban scrambler bikes from public roads altogether. <\/p>\n Furthermore, Miche\u00e1l told Opposition speakers, he will \u201cgladly\u201d work with them if there is a need to strengthen the existing legislation to make it stronger. <\/p>\n The Attorney General<\/a> told him no additional laws are needed to do this. All this can be done without any additional laws being passed. <\/p>\n \u201cIf the garda\u00ed don\u2019t need additional powers,\u201d remarked Ivana Bacik, \u201cthen let\u2019s get additional garda\u00ed.\u201d <\/p>\n There was a sorrowful determination to the Taoiseach\u2019s words. <\/p>\n No ifs and no buts, just a blunt \u201cIt will be done.\u201d<\/p>\n The D\u00e1il had recognised the courage and fortitude of Grace\u2019s heartbroken mother Siobh\u00e1n. Despite her grief, she addressed a vigil in Finglas<\/a> on Monday night and vowed to fight until those scramblers were taken off the streets.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a fight she should not have to take on,\u201d said Mary Lou McDonald. <\/p>\n Miche\u00e1l Martin clearly agrees. <\/p>\n Later, during questions on policy, Gary Gannon<\/a> of the Social Democrats<\/a> spoke of Siobh\u00e1n Lynch\u2019s extraordinary courage. \u201cShe will need our support.\u201d <\/p>\n Was there not a provision in the 2023 legislation for the prohibition on the use of these lethal machines in urban areas?<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re correct,\u201d replied Miche\u00e1l. \u201cThe legislation can and does allow for the banning of such vehicles from our public roads and that is something that will be done.\u201d <\/p>\n At the vigil, Grace\u2019s mother said watching her daughter take her last breath \u201cwas the worst pain imaginable\u201d. <\/p>\n It must be done.<\/p>\n It\u2019s beyond a matter of time now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Remove the menace of scrambler bikes from beleaguered communities. Take them off the streets. This is going to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":165790,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[956,46402,9,10,150952,52,15861,18,13,14,89770,3428,6,19,17,9170,29801,9171,11,12,15,16,16594,5765,55915,5,4766,47,18578,7,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-307854","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-an-garda-siochana","9":"tag-attorney-general","10":"tag-breaking-news","11":"tag-breakingnews","12":"tag-dessie-ellis","13":"tag-dublin","14":"tag-dublin-11","15":"tag-eire","16":"tag-featured-news","17":"tag-featurednews","18":"tag-gary-gannon","19":"tag-government","20":"tag-headlines","21":"tag-ie","22":"tag-ireland","23":"tag-ivana-bacik","24":"tag-justin-kelly","25":"tag-labour-party","26":"tag-latest-news","27":"tag-latestnews","28":"tag-main-news","29":"tag-mainnews","30":"tag-mary-lou-mcdonald","31":"tag-micheal-martin","32":"tag-miriam-lord","33":"tag-news","34":"tag-oireachtas","35":"tag-sinn-fein","36":"tag-social-democrats","37":"tag-top-stories","38":"tag-topstories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115972311835243096","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=307854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307854\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=307854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=307854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=307854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Flowers](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/X6AMLMQHEND3LC2CR6G7CJRCPE.JPG\")
Flowers left at the pedestrian crossing where 16-year-old Grace Lynch was fatally injured as a result of being hit by a scrambler bike at Ratoath Road in Finglas. Photograph: Alan Betson <\/p>\n![\"Siobhán](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/2MKCWIZS4IFVH6KH3BD4ADWLJA.jpg\")
Siobh\u00e1n Lynch leads a vigil in memory of her daughter Grace. Photograph: Colin Keegan\/Collins <\/p>\n