Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses. My committee colleagues have covered the driver licence element of this in good detail, so I will not revisit that. I thank the witnesses for their responses on that. On the matter of e-scooters, and further to what Deputies Ó Murchú, Leddin and others said, where does Mr. Rowland see e-scooters fitting into the overall transport network of first-mile and last-mile solutions in five and ten years' time? We seem to have been fighting long and hard for improved infrastructure for bikes, but in fairness there have been huge leaps forward on this in the past months. E-scooter use has exploded in the last few years and months. When we plan road safety policy and transport infrastructure, to what extend have e-scooters entered the conversation on how we will plan our cycle lanes, our safe lanes and our regional towns? For example, I live in Swords and we are hoping at some stage to have a MetroLink. I hope to be able to cycle or get an e-scooter from our home to a MetroLink stop that may be too close to drive to but too far to walk for a daily commute. What conversations are taking place about five and ten year's down the line, and not just about this legislation? If the use of e-scooters grows at the current rate, they will be incredibly common in our major towns and cities, as common as the use of bikes if not more so. I am interested in Mr. Rowland's thoughts on that.

Senator Craughwell referred to cycling in Dublin city. Some 20 years ago I witnessed a cycling fatality in Dublin city. It was a horrific thing to happen and to have witnessed. It highlighted to me how unsafe our city is. It is welcome to see cycle lanes developed but to what extent will they be improved and networked? As with the pencil bollards, which are necessary for traffic segregation, what is the long-term plan for these lanes which are unsightly. It would be great to see them replaced with a different type of segregation, perhaps a lower kerb, when other road users and particularly motorists are used to and accept the fact that cyclists have parity and need extra protection on our roads. I am interested in Mr. Rowland's thoughts on the future for e-scooter use.