73. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Transport if he will consider undertaking a review of the current regulatory regime in place for escooters; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63600/25]

Sentiment score: 0.01

Will the Minister of State consider undertaking a review of the regulatory regime for e-scooters? He will be aware of the Road Safety Authority survey earlier this year which showed nearly a quarter of regular e-scooter users have been involved in an accident and one third have been involved in a near miss. We know the number of accidents involving e-scooters on our roads is increasing and that 416 e-scooters had been seized by An Garda Síochána as of 6 October this year. We have no regulatory regime in place for the users of e-scooters and I am keen to see action on that.

Sentiment score: -0.08

The Minister of State will be aware of recent reports of e-scooters being sold openly in Irish shops which do not meet those safety requirements and are, therefore, illegal to use on Irish roads. My fear is we are becoming an outlier in western Europe. In France and Germany, e-scooters and, therefore, the users need to be insured. In Italy, e-scooters need to have a licence plate and be insured and registered. There is a requirement on users to practice safe use of e-scooters. One interesting aspect of the German model is e-scooters have to come with an operating permit and, to get the permit, the e-scooter must comply with requirements including having a maximum speed of 20 km/h. That enables its sale on the German market. The time has come to not just look at general regulations. These are different vehicles from push bikes and separate from the use of infrastructure by pedestrians. They are mechanically propelled and that has to be taken into account in the regulations. There is a need for an operator permit model.

Sentiment score: -0.03

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. The other aspect of this I am worried about is that anecdotal evidence from my constituency and around the country suggests that e-scooters are being used in many cases to facilitate antisocial behaviour, and because they do not have to be registered to an owner, there is no accountability regarding the vehicle. There are concerns about visibility for other road users. As the Minister of State said, there are also concerns about footpaths being used to facilitate e-scooters, all of which is illegal. The introduction of a regime with registration or insurance requirements would make sure the user would have accountability. Any regulatory regime would have to acknowledge that e-scooters create convenience for a lot of road users and that they are part of our overall active travel approach. However, a regulatory regime must strike a balance between the need for convenience and the need for safety, not only of e-scooter users but of other road users as well. I would love to work with the Minister of State and other Ministers to bring forward a regulatory regime that would bring that accountability to the use of e-scooters while maintaining their safe use for convenience.

Sentiment score: 0.19