Mr. Ray O'Leary:

I would be reluctant to say at this stage whether it would be workable because these are very new ideas. We should bear in mind the transmission of views from the RSA's consultants, who are drawing on international experience. I am referring to the question of what legislation would be entailed. The Deputy will have had this experience with his. It would be a matter of creating an environment for regulating the items and then a matter of regulating their use. One could have a system whereby the items come under some sort of regulation, with or without a recognised standard. Their use, and particularly where they can be used, could then be provided for, subject to a permissive by-law regime. We would have to sit down, scope this out, work with our colleagues in the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and consult our colleagues in the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. As the Deputy knows, the road traffic law code pertains to a mix of areas that are regulated nationally and at by-law level. By-laws cover parking and one-way streets, for example. Certainly, it is possible to have a mix of national and local regulations. The other option would not be a common manoeuvre in the Irish context. It would involve some kind of private legislation for a particular area. In a sense, it would still end up with the same generic questions in terms of the vehicles themselves and so on. I would not rule it out. I am always slow to rule out an option until I have had a chance to draw out how it could work and its implications. That is as much as I can say at this stage. The aspect under discussion was a more surprising aspect of the conclusions but I believe it would be seen in the context of either the scope for a pilot or another context. It relates to an earlier point we were making. Not only is there the matter of how the user uses the vehicle but also the matters of the basic mechanical standards that need to be met and the safety fittings required. Then the question arises as to what constitutes the best use of the road space that the vehicle might occupy. Generally, the regulation of road space is led by local authorities. There is, in a sense, a road-space aspect to this that might best be addressed at local authority level. Equally, however, we do not want to put an excessive burden on local authorities. It is a matter of striking a balance. As ever, we are always trying to strike balances, accepting that we never come up with the perfect answer.