321. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Transport the technical and safety basis which was relied upon for treating e-scooters differently under the new regulations from electrically assisted bicycles, including heavier utility or cargo e-bikes that may provide assistance up to 25 km/h. [65483/26]

The Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023 defines a new category of vehicle in the Road Traffic Act, 1961, to be called 'powered personal transporters', or PPTs, which includes personal light electric vehicles like e-scooters, and gives the Minister for Transport powers to regulate them. Prior to the introduction of the e-scooter regulations in 2024, e-scooters were not legal for use on Irish roads. The 2024 Regulations established technical requirements for e-scooters with the objective of providing a framework for their safe use on public roads.

E-bikes are a separate vehicle category and are subject to different technical requirements, while being excluded from the EU Type-Approval framework for motorcycles. The Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023 makes a distinction between lower-powered models of e-bikes, which are treated as a kind of pedal cycle, and the higher-powered models which are more akin to electric mopeds. These higher powered e-mopeds are classified as motorcycles under EU Type-Approval framework and are also classified as MPVs under the Road Traffic Acts.