John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I suppose the scandal is that we are still talking about this. Much of this has been known for three years. I have been riding the e-scooter story for four years since my time as spokesperson on Dublin when in opposition. The argument for the shared scheme is compelling. The argument is very clear in my mind that the State should start with the regulation of the shared scheme in order to build confidence in regard to personal use. That is what was done in the UK, but it was done two years ago, in part to obviate the problem created by the reduction in public transport because of Covid and to provide alternative modes. As a result, there has been a significant amount of licensing by local authorities.

As the Chair knows, the British Government did not legalise it; it regulated for it. We are here, two years later, still discussing it. That is not an issue to do with the committee. It is an issue to do with the Minister and the manner in which he has gone about this piece. He could have simplified the process and regulated it on his appointment or shortly thereafter. Regulating it for shared schemes would have been quite a radical thing to do in Dublin, and other cities and towns, while the streets were quiet. This would have allowed e-scooters to bed in. That is the first point. It was a huge missed opportunity. I am sorry, but I have said it on the record before and I am keen to put it on the record again.

Second, e-scooters would have bedded in by this stage and people would have had the chance to use them.

If that had happened, it is possible that fewer commuters would have had to resort to their cars, as many did, because they were uncomfortable using public transport during the Covid period. In the past three or four years, I have met all the providers. Indeed, almost all of the witnesses are familiar to me. There was a failure on the part of the previous Minister for Transport to make progress in this area.

The arguments are compelling for moving forward with shared schemes. The whole system can be simplified in that it is possible, to some degree, to govern how the vehicles operate under shared schemes, whereas that is not possible with personally-owned ones. The speeds can be governed, depending on whatever is agreed upon. I have been on these scooters and I am happy with the 15 mph limit for which the UK opted. When one gets up to approximately 25 mph-----