Noel Rock (Dublin North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Mr. O'Leary referred to the legal grey area, saying, in effect, it does not exist. Let us dive into that. E-bicycles are obviously considered legal and road safe by the Department and are, in effect, treated like regular bicycles. What is the difference between an e-bicycle and an e-scooter? As Mr. McGinty will testify, in order for me to commence my journey on an e-scooter, I need to manually kick start that scooter into action. I need to achieve a speed of 5 km/h in order for the electric engine, or motor, to kick in and commence. Therefore, no journey can be 100% completed by mechanical propulsion. No matter for how long or how far I continue a journey, only 99.9% of it will be mechanically-propelled. Where does the figure live? Where does the number live? If I am on an electric bicycle, for example, a certain percentage of that journey is mechanically-propelled. What is the difference between one and the other, where is it set down in law and what led the Department to come to such a definitive conclusion that there is no grey area given that, as far as I am aware, no prosecutions have to date been enforced by a court?