A local councillor for Finglas in Dublin has criticised a "lawlessness" around the use of scrambler bikes following the death of a pedestrian in the area yesterday.
A teenage girl died after being struck by a scrambler bike in Finglas yesterday afternoon.
The incident occurred on the Ratoath Road between Scribblestown and Dunsink.
The girl was brought to Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown for treatment but she died from her injuries.
A man aged in his teens was arrested in connection with the incident. He remains in garda custody this morning.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Fianna Fáil Councillor for Ballymun-Finglas Keith Connolly said the issue of scrambler bikes has been raised at every single safety forum he has attended for the last number of years but that it is clear that not enough is being done to deter people who use them in a dangerous manner.
"We had a young girl on the way to meet her boyfriend on a Sunday afternoon who was so tragically killed by a scrambler," he said.
Mr Connolly said he would regularly see scrambler bikes in his area but he has not seen any evidence of gardaí pursuing those cyclists using them improperly.
"It's clear that changes to the law last year that allow gardaí to seize these vehicles from a property without a warrant if they believe they have been used in an anti-social manner is not enough," Mr Connolly added.
"It's very evident now that that's not enough, and there's [a] great frustration around the pursuit of these vehicles ... there's a level of lawlessness about these bikes being used in certain areas, and it's deeply frustrating," he said.
Mr Connolly said that gardaí need to more aggressively pursue people on scramblers who are behaving dangerously.
"You cannot have a bike going up on a road, pulling wheelies, or, in the case of yesterday's tragedy - killing a young girl on the way to meet her boyfriend. It's unacceptable, and that level of lawlessness has to be dealt with," he added.
A technical examination of the scene was carried out by Garda Forensic Collision Investigators yesterday.
Gardaí are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed the collision to contact them. In particular, they are appealing to any road users or pedestrians who may have footage, including dash-cam, and who were in the area between 2.10pm and 2.40pm, to make the footage available to them.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Finglas Garda Station on 01 666 7500, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any garda station.
