E-scooter road safety laws
Deputy O'Gorman sought balanced new laws on e-scooters and other road safety issues, noting many lawful users. The Taoiseach said a report on child injuries from e-scooter accidents is awaited and proposals will come to Government soon.
There has been rightful focus on road safety over the past week in the context of discussions on illegal use of scrambler bikes and the dangerous use of e-scooters. The Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, are due to make significant decisions about new laws soon. The Road Safety Authority estimates that about 5% of the adult population uses e-scoters. That is tens of thousands who use these devices, mainly as part of the work commute. We have rightly focused on the bad and dangerous behaviour that is out there, but there are plenty of people who are law abiding and who do their best to drive safely. They use e-scooters because they are more convenient and are cheaper to run in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. In the decision it is about to make on new rules for e-scooters, the Government should keep in mind the position of thousands of adults who use e-scooters responsibly, who need them for their commute and who should not be punished because of the dangerous behaviour of some individuals.
Comment on this
I take the Deputy's point. The Minister for Health has sought a comprehensive report from Children's Health Ireland on one of the issues that concerns me, namely injuries to children arising as a result of e-scooter accidents. I refer, in particular, to head injuries, brain damage and so on. We have to assess that report when we get it as a factor in how we deal with this issue. The Minister of State, Deputy Canney, will be bringing proposals to Government. We will have meetings next week in relation to this. We will then be in a position the, perhaps, to engage more widely with Members of the House on the matter. This is a very serious issue for us.
Without question, it probably did not have the regulatory framework it should have had at the outset. That is something we need to look at.