Grace's Law 'means nothing unless it's enforced', Oireachtas committee to hear
On the 'Deirdre O'Shaughnessy Podcast', Martin and Siobhan Lynch suggested that the introduction of Grace’s Law 'means nothing unless it's enforced'. File picture: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie
Grace Lynch’s parents have spoken of their heartache at being asked to provide a death certificate to social media companies following requests to remove false posts about the teen.
On the , Martin and Siobhan Lynch suggested that the introduction of Grace’s Law “means nothing unless it's enforced”.
Grace, aged 16, died in January after she was struck by a scrambler bike while at a pedestrian crossing in Finglas, Dublin.
Her death resulted in the enactment of “Grace’s Law”, which closed a loophole in 2023 legislation and made the use of scrambler bikes illegal on public roads.
However, the Lynch family have spoken about the backlash they have received following their advocacy to ban the dangerous vehicles, including death threats and threats of violence.
Mrs Lynch said that following Grace’s death, AI videos were made of her daughter on a scrambler. People also took photos and videos of Grace from her friend's accounts and made up a “false account” suggesting she had been pregnant.
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“We then contacted TikTok, and we were telling TikTok that these need to be took down, Grace had passed away,” Ms Lynch said.
“TikTok's response was, ‘Send us in a death certificate’. We were like, ‘We don't even have a death certificate’
“We’ve contacted all of these social media sites when we were getting these things done, and nothing seemed to be getting done about it.”
Mrs Lynch said that “Grace's Law means nothing unless it's enforced”, as the teen’s distraught parents raised concerns that gardaí are still not empowered to chase scramblers.
Mr Lynch said that while it is illegal for these scramblers to be used on public roads, it is still legal for these bikes to be sold, calling for an outright ban.
“It's easier to buy [a scrambler] than for me to buy fish in a shop or for me to buy Solpadine. That is how restrictive it should be, but it is not.”
He also called for tougher financial sanctions to be imposed on parents when their child is on a scrambler.
The Lynch family were also critical of the Road Safety Authority (RSA), which they said “hasn’t come near them”, despite Grace’s aunt contacting them about running an ad campaign about the dangers of the vehicles.
Mr and Mrs Lynch will on Tuesday present to the Oireachtas Justice Committee on scramblers during a session which will also hear contributions from the RSA and Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly.
Mr Kelly will say that “enforcement alone will not fully address this issue”, and “the most effective response must combine prevention, education, community engagement, and enforcement”.
“As Commissioner, our response must protect communities while also ensuring that enforcement activity is carried out safely,” he will say.
The RSA, meanwhile, will highlight that between January 2021 and June 2026, there have been four deaths and 59 serious injuries because of scramblers.
“Two of the road users who died, and 15 of the road users who were seriously injured, were not scrambler users,” they will say.
“These 17 road users included pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, and passengers. Just over half of these casualties (53%) were male. Almost three in five (59%) were aged 25 years or less.
“Of the 46 scrambler users who died or were seriously injured during this time, all of them were male. Three quarters were aged 25 years or less.”
The RSA will also commit to developing a social media campaign to raise awareness for Grace’s Law.
- Louise Burne is Political Correspondent.
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