The Government has agreed to proposals banning the use of e scooters for anyone under the age of 18.
Under these proposals, hi-vis jackets and helmets will also be mandatory for anyone using an e scooter. E scooters will be prohibited from being sold to minors, while the sale of scooters who do not meet the legal requirements for use on public roads will also be banned.
These new laws will take effect in August.
Legislation will also be brought in later this year, treating e scooters as mechanically propelled vehicles which will be required to be licensed and registered.
Government leaders also agreed to new legislation for Gardaí pursuing e scooters and e bikes, which follows a similar pattern to the UK. This would allow for greater legal protections to Gardaí when in pursuit of these e scooters and e bikes.
This comes after leaders of the Irish Government met up with the Garda Commissioner at Government buildings in order to discuss the issues regarding the safety concerns around the use of e scooters.
This meeting included the Taoiseach, Minister for Justice and Minister of State for Transport, who met with the Garda Commissioner. This package of measures are to go before the Government next week.
Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Michael Murphy, chair of the Oireachtas Transport Commissioner, said: “These measures represent a significant and necessary step forward, but an outright ban must remain firmly on the table if the issues around e-scooters aren’t brought under control".
“This is decisive action from Government, and it’s badly needed,” he added. “The scale of Garda activity around e-scooters alone tells its own story".
The meeting also touched on the data from Children's Health Ireland and the HSE, suggesting that there is a concerning pattern of serious and life changing injuries caused as a result of e scooter crashes.
Such data includes one third of paediatric traumatic brain injury admissions to CHI at Temple Street in 2026 being related to e scooter crashes. There was also an increase of 50% in admissions for traumatic brain injuries from e-scooter accidents over the passed year.
Garda Commissioner, Justin Kelly also confirmed that 1,412 e scooters were seized in Ireland so far this year, while there have been 793 prosecutions of possession across the same period.
According to reports in RTÉ, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that the data collated by CHI is "very, very serious", regarding to the number of young people who have sustained serious injuries from such accidents.
Mr Martin added that the decision will go before the Cabinet next week, while a full outright ban on e scooters remains on the table.
He went on to say that these proposals are to bring a change to both the use of e scooters and improve the safety around them.
State of State for Transport, Sean Canney added that this new legislation on licences would give Gardái information on the age of e scooter riders, as the sale and purchase of e scooters was originally undocumented.
The minister stated that current rules make it hard to enforce "when you don't know who bought the e-scooter, you don’t know where it was bought, and you don’t know what it is being used for". (Quotes according to RTÉ).
