Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have a couple of questions for the witnesses, but I would first like to thank Mr. Walsh for the invitation to the committee to view the eMOS system. In the next week or two, post the lifting of some of the level 5 restrictions, the clerk will engage with him to set up a date for that visit. It would make sense for the committee to do that.

I would like to touch briefly on a few areas. Senator Buttimer referenced Dr. Meade's analysis on e-scooters. We are scrutinising legislation which is effectively a road traffic Bill and yet a substantial proportion of it is around e-scooters and scramblers. The committee has written to the Department of Transport inquiring as to the timeframe for implementation of this legislation because there are elements of it that are being held up owing to the requirement for pre-legislative scrutiny of the e-scooter provisions.

There is clearly an urgency around legislating for e-scooters, e-bikes and quad bikes in terms of safety. In that context, I refer again to Dr. Meade's analysis. In Dublin, in particular, there has been a huge increase in the number of people cycling, which I have noted while sitting in traffic in a taxi on route to catch a train home, and I am surprised more cyclists are not seriously injured on the roads in Dublin. Dr. Meade makes a telling observation, namely, that she believes e-mobility should not be permitted to use bus or tram lanes and yet cyclists are allowed to use them. How does one reconcile that? I would have thought bus and tram lanes are as dangerous for cyclists as they are for those on e-scooters. We need to have a discussion around how we make roads safer for cyclists, pedestrians and vehicles. There is a massive roll-out of cycling infrastructure, which I welcome, but I am concerned about safety. I am concerned that many of the cycleways are very narrow. I am concerned also about cyclists using bus lanes, although I accept the need for people to be able to get where they are going.

My first question is to Dr. Meade. Is there a body of work to be done on a safety code around driver and cyclist interaction? How does she reconcile people on e-bikes not being permitted to use bus lanes when cyclists can do so? I would welcome a response from Dr. Meade on those two questions.