Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I have been seen to cycle without a helmet but I increasingly do wear a helmet because I am fearful and want to protect my head, but I do not believe that we should make them mandatory, for a variety of reasons. Deputy O'Rourke raised the matter of Dublinbikes. Those hire bikes are being used increasingly widely. People using them do not wear helmets. We do not want to discourage that development. Countries which have introduced the mandatory use of helmets, including Australia, saw a reduction in the number of people cycling. There is a substantial health loss from that. The health benefits from active travel are beyond compare. You live longer. Even if it does put a person at a risk of falling or being involved in a traffic accident, the health benefits are extensive. Our job is to create safe space and safe conditions on the road for cycling or a range of different new personal mobility systems, such as e-scooters, which are not intrinsically unsafe.

It is the condition of our roads that makes them unsafe. Our focus should be on making roads safer and on encouraging, supporting and incentivising the use of helmets, but not to make them mandatory.