Debate contribution: Antisocial Scrambler and e-Scooter Use

Debate contribution by Miss Órlaithí Flynn on 21 April 2026.

MLA

Miss Órlaithí Flynn

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

21 April 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Opposition Business

Heading

Antisocial Scrambler and e-Scooter Use

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5497903

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I welcome the opportunity to speak to this important motion. It was interesting to hear my colleague Emma Sheerin provide feedback that the issue does not necessarily affect all our constituencies. I have not really taken any time to step away from West Belfast to think about how the issue might impact on different parts of the North and the island. I am relieved and pleased to hear that not all our communities are blighted. It is a very difficult and frustrating issue to try to deal with, so I am glad that not everyone has to. That said, it is having an impact on communities. As a West Belfast representative, I acknowledge, as has been mentioned, the devastating loss of life that we witnessed, not so long ago, in 2016. That poor young mother of three kids lost her life as a result of the issue that we are talking about today. Since that happened, I cannot help but think about those kids, that girl's husband and her family, who will forever live with the pain of what happened on that day. That is the reality that we are dealing with. When Mark Durkan opened the debate, he talked about the essence of the motion, which is what we can do better to deal with the matter. It genuinely comes down to the fact that there is potential for loss of life. That is how serious it is. Mark mentioned the near misses, and we see those happening regularly in our constituencies, on our roads and streets. That mother lost her life and her children no longer have their mummy with them, and that breaks my heart every time that I think about it. Every time that I see a scrambler in West Belfast, which is pretty regularly, it takes me back — it is probably the same for anyone who sees them — to what happened to that girl. That is why we must do all that we can by way of regulation, education with parents, enforcement of legislation and supporting the PSNI to have the resources to be able to enforce the law. The PSNI has spoken about its capacity to chase scramblers up and down the roads and the dangers that go with that. When you live in an area where that is a pretty regular occurrence, you understand why it is very difficult to manage. When I am driving to work or taking my son to school, or when people in my constituency and in constituencies like mine are going about their daily business, it is so frustrating to see one of those scramblers flying at speed right up to the tail of your car. It is so dangerous when they drive in between lanes or alongside you. They are swerving between lanes and pulling out in front of your car. Most of our roads in West Belfast are main thoroughfares, but we have some country roads as well. Regardless of where those incidents take place, they are so dangerous. They pose a danger not just for drivers but for pedestrians who are going about their business, walking on the footpath or crossing the road. There are so many opportunities for causing injuries or — please God, no one wants to see it — further loss of life. I am grateful that we are having this discussion today. I do not want to take away from one element or another, but legislation will be very important to bring us to a better place. I am thinking about the young girl in the South who lost her life and what her poor family is going through. The South is slightly behind us, in that we have legislation that makes scramblers on public roads illegal, but we need to do much more, and education will be so important. I want to make a special appeal to parents. None of us does things perfectly, but as a parent, I ask you to be aware of the dangers to your child when they ride on a scrambler or an e-scooter, as well as to the local community. No one wants to be in a situation where they are dealing with a loss of life that is caused by a scrambler or an e-scooter, whether that be the person using those vehicles or the people who may come to harm on our streets. If there is any support that we can give to the police and parents as a result of the motion, or if we can strengthen legislation and regulations, let us do it so that no one else loses their life.

773 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:26 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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