Ms Léan Kennedy:

Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind and our clients welcome the opportunity to speak about our concerns about the Road Traffic and Roads Bill 2021. We are partnering with the National Council for the Blind and the Irish Wheelchair Association in our position paper. As part of my opening statement, I will focus on two key areas of concern for our clients and members. The first is the need for clear and absolute restrictions to be placed on the use of electric scooters on footpaths, shared space and dual walking and cycling paths. There is a clear need for insurance requirements and age limits on the use of electric scooters.

In our more than 40-year history, we have worked to change lives. In the past year we have provided 34 guide dogs to people who are blind and vision-impaired and 43 assistance dogs to families of children with autism. These highly trained, reliable, sociable working dogs help improve the independence and mobility of their owners. As one client said, the dog "allows me to live my life on my terms". As a guide dog owner, I understand completely the positive impact my guide dog, Higgins, has had on my life.

Guide dogs are a mobility aid for people who are blind or vision-impaired and they help their owners to avoid obstacles and help them when changes in floor surfaces are approaching, such as with kerbs and steps. They also help to locate doorways to buildings, buses and trains. Assistance dogs help keep children with autism calm and stop them from bolting and endangering themselves. Guide and assistance dogs work really hard and concentrate to keep their owners safe but they can be startled by electric scooters due to their silent nature. It can be difficult for dogs to pre-empt danger as a result and react appropriately. These dogs may be forced to stop guiding and walking their owner in such cases as it is their only way to communicate to their owners an obstacle or hazard. This can be disorientating and confusing for people who are blind and vision-impaired and for children with autism.

Guide dogs and assistance dogs help people with disabilities to move about more freely and independently in their communities. They help their owner to participate fully in their community, get to work and socialise. In a recent survey, we found 89% of clients are concerned about their safety with regard to the use of electric scooters. Clients have said that electric scooters on footpaths will completely destroy their mobility, while some will find they will be more reluctant to go out and about independently if electric scooters are in their environment. Some are concerned about the anxiety caused to children with autism and that family outings will be made more difficult. The survey indicates that 53% of our clients have already had a negative encounter, including near collisions, with an electric scooter. One assistance dog owner states:

Riding on footpaths will cause problems. We have already had two collisions, riding off road, leaving my daughter crying on the footpath.

The survey indicates 90% of clients and members believe electric scooters should not be allowed on footpaths or in any pedestrian or shared space areas. We are asking the committee to review the Bill and ensure it can be amended appropriately so the people who use guide dogs and assistance dogs can have the confidence and ability to get out and about without the worry of colliding with electric scooters or any potential danger of personal injury.

We call on the committee to ensure the Bill is amended to allow clear prohibitions to be placed on electric scooters and to make it an offence for those scooters to be on footpaths, using pedestrian crossings or using dual cycle or walking paths. They should also be prohibited from encroaching on people who are out and about with their guide dogs and assistance dogs, as this makes it almost impossible for people to get out and about safely and independently. We are also asking for the Bill to be amended so that appropriate insurance requirements can be put in place. This will include the requirement for a provisional licence so that people using electric scooters have to undergo an appropriate training course in road safety and the use of the vehicles. This would make them more aware of the people around them. We also ask for the minimum age limit to be enforced appropriately. Currently, providers of electric scooters are only prohibited from selling them to people under the age of 16 but we must ensure there is a requirement for a provisional licence and insurance under the Bill. This would ensure people under the age of 16 would not be able to use electric scooters when out and about in public places, potentially endangering other people out and about who are trying to walk and travel.

I thank the committee for its time today so we could voice our concerns and convey the results of our recent survey. There is a strong need for the Bill to be amended so that people who are blind and vision-impaired, along with children with autism, can move freely and confidently through the environment without being worried about being encroached upon by these scooters that would force dogs to stop guiding and walking because of being startled by the electric scooter. It is very disorienting for them in trying to move freely through that environment.