WATCH: Tipperary TD calls for broader road safety debate beyond scrambler ban

An Independent TD for South Tipperary Mattie McGrath has called for a much broader debate on road safety, warning that current discussion risks being overly narrow.

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Deputy Mattie McGrath said the national conversation “must be much wider than simply banning Scramblers”, following renewed calls for such a ban after a number of tragic incidents.

While acknowledging the seriousness of those incidents, the Regional Independent TD said that “road safety cannot be addressed by focusing on a single issue alone”, arguing that major problems have been overlooked for years. “For years there has been huge road safety issues that have been ignored,” he said.

Deputy McGrath said a wider examination is required “to understand the full range of risks on Irish roads and in public spaces”. He pointed to several ongoing challenges which, he said, form part of the wider safety picture.

“These challenges such as the growing use of e-scooters in towns, ongoing concerns around sulky racing on public roads, and persistent gaps in enforcement all contribute to the broader safety picture,” he said, adding that the road safety debate “must tackle sulky racing and e-scooters as well”.

The South Tipperary TD also questioned the effectiveness of introducing legislation without sufficient enforcement capacity. He said that “introducing new legislation is only effective if the necessary enforcement mechanisms, resources, and Garda capacity are in place to implement it”.

Deputy McGrath said that a more comprehensive response is required to improve safety outcomes. “A comprehensive, multi-layered approach is therefore essential to improving overall road safety rather than relying on isolated legislative responses,” he said.

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