I join others in wishing Christmas cheer to everyone here and while we are on the topic of Christmas, I want to raise the issue of e-scooters and e-bikes. There is a lot of talk about them being bought as Christmas presents for people but there is a great need for the regulation of these vehicles on our roads. In the past few months we have seen stories of scooters come and go. We have read about the accidents and the damage being done to people. I witnessed the unfortunate aftermath of such an accident when a young child was badly injured outside Leixlip GAA club one evening when I was coaching there. I understand the impact of these vehicles.

I raised this issue with the Taoiseach back in July and he said that he would refer it to the Minister for justice and ask that it be discussed by the Oireachtas committee. How has that progressed? What can we do to bring in proper regulation across the country on this important issue?

I wish the Deputy a happy Christmas too and thank him for raising this very serious issue. It is very timely because when we turn on our radios at the moment, we all hear the very chilling advertisements from emergency department consultants and ICU consultants in children's hospitals reminding us of the law in relation to e-scooters but also, on a purely human level, of the absolute devastation that children and others can experience as a result of accidents involving e-scooters. A report by the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland published earlier this month found that e-scooters are now the leading cause of traumatic brain injuries to children at Temple Street hospital. That needs to be a stark and worrying reminder for all of us this Christmas. I am particularly conscious of that, as we approach Christmas.

The Road Traffic Act 1994 (Detention of Powered Personal Transporters) Regulations 2024 came into operation on 20 May 2024. These regulations give gardaí the power to detain, remove and store powered personal transporters such as e-scooters that are in contravention of road traffic laws. E-scooters can be legally used on public roads only if they meet the technical and usage requirements. The requirements for an e-scooter to be used on public roads include that it has a maximum design speed of 20 km/h, a maximum contentious rated power output of 400W or less and a maximum weight of 25 kg. Since the introduction of the regulations 1,002 fixed-charge notices have been issued for e-scooter-related offences, as of 13 November this year. Gardaí had seized, as of the same date, 744 e-scooters this year as compared to 326 last year. The Garda authorities have confirmed that there were 52 instances in 2024 and 67 instances to date in 2025 where the detention or seizure of an e-scooter was linked to a crime incident other than a road traffic offence. We have the regulations. We need to see enforcement. We also need commonsense here. People need to stop purchasing these for minors.