Ms Aisling Dunne:

I will not repeat what my colleagues have mentioned around enforcement, which is obviously important as this is a road transport mobility and there must be enforcement procedures around it. A lot has been said on vehicle standards already. About two weeks ago one of the large supermarket chains was selling electric scooters. That is very worrying because there are potentially very low standards for the vehicles that are being sold there, putting a lot of riders and other road users around them in danger. There is a need for high standards to be imposed for private use. Awareness and education are needed for private vehicle users as well as for those using the shared scheme. A lot of the operators run education schemes as people start using their scooters. That obviously does not apply when someone is purchasing a scooter privately. We would like to see the Road Safety Authority get involved. Many scooter users will have provisional or full driving licences. If as part of the provisional driving licence process and the theory test or the full driving licence test they are required to understand how and where to use a scooter and the dangers and responsibility that come with it, this would result in a good step-change in behaviour.

One of the most dangerous behaviours I see around the place, apart from not wearing sufficient high visibility gear - something on which the Road Safety Authority could raise awareness once they become legal - is tandem riding. That often involves children, which is particularly worrying.