The Taoiseach, Tánaiste, Minister for Justice, Minister of State for Transport and the Garda Commissioner are to meet at Government Buildings this morning to discuss safety concerns around e-scooters.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin told the Dáil last week that he was leaning towards banning e-scooters, while Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly said he would support such a ban, reports RTE.
A recent report by Children’s Health Ireland raised concerns about traumatic brain injuries being sustained by children using e-scooters.
E-scooter users must be at least 16 years of age and devices used on public roads cannot exceed a design speed of 20km/h, reports RTE.
Any measures must give clarity to e-scooter users and gardaí – Canney
Minister of State at the Department of Transport Seán Canney said any measures taken to address e-scooters must be effective and give clarity to both users and the gardaí who have to enforce legislation.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Canney said a number of options are available, including an outright ban, reports RTE.
“Most important to me is how quickly can we bring it in and how effective it will be… the status quo will not prevail.”
He said the negative effects of e-scooters on people’s lives, in particular children, must be taken into consideration, reports RTE.
“The Department of Health has completed a report for us that we will hopefully see this morning,” he added.
“The effect that e-scooters are having on people’s lives and children, and how many of them end up in hospital and the type of injuries they have, I think that’s very important when you’re making a decision on what road to pursue – that we have all the facts in front of us,” he said, reports RTE.
Mr Canney said legislation is also needed to protect gardaí pursuing e-scooters or scramblers and to ensure officers are properly trained in that type of pursuit.
“Parents and guardians have a responsibility, and I would tell them that if you want your child to enjoy their summer, the last thing you should allow them to do is go on an e-scooter.
“You just need to look at the facts and figures from CHI in relation to the number of children who are in hospital as a result of e-scooter injuries, particularly those with head injuries,” Mr Canney added, reports RTE.
Transport Committee chair supports outright ban
The chair of the Oireachtas Transport Committee said he supports an outright ban on e-scooters.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with David McCullagh, Michael Murphy said he would favour some form of buyback scheme should such a ban be introduced, reports RTE.
“We cannot continue to ignore the evidence of CHI and the numbers of young children presenting with serious injuries,” he said.
The Fine Gael TD added that adults are also being seriously injured in e-scooter incidents, reports RTE.
“I don’t dispute for a second that e-scooters are an environmentally sustainable way to travel. But the problem is that public policy cannot just look at environmental benefits alone.
“We have to consider public safety. We have to consider child protection, criminal misuse, and whether the law can actually be enforced, and I think when you weigh up all of those factors together, I think the balance has shifted,” reports RTE.
Mr Murphy said it would be very difficult to find the garda resources to fully enforce e-scooter legislation.
“Who checks the age of every rider? Who checks the speed modifications? Who checks the insurance? Who checks the registration? How can you stop an illegal e-scooter at 40, 50, 80 kms an hour?” reports RTE.
He added that the use of e-scooters in the UK is limited to rental companies in metropolitan cities.
Meanwhile, the decision by two online retailers to remove certain e-scooters from sale was welcomed by a number of politicians over the weekend, with Amazon and AliExpress confirming they will not sell e-scooters that are not compliant with Irish law, reports RTE.
Fine Gael’s Michael Murphy called on all retailers to follow the lead of Amazon and AliExpress and remove e-scooters from sale until they comply with Irish legislation, and was informed by Amazon at the weekend that the electric foldable e-scooter had been removed from sale pending an investigation by the retail giant.
Mr Murphy said retailers must take responsibility for how they market and sell e-scooters, calling on all those selling devices marketed at children or capable of exceeding the legal speed limit to remove them from their platforms or shop floors, reports RTE.
Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman also welcomed the move and urged other retailers to follow suit, saying in a statement that while the decision is welcome, “you could still go into a toy shop and buy an e-scooter for a child as young as six that is capable of travelling up to 16km/h. These vehicles should be banned outright,” reports RTE.
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