Ms June Tinsley:

I thank the Deputy for his questions. On the issue of regulation versus legislation, I agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Fulham regarding the need for clear parameters to be put into the legislation. For us, these are very basic minimum standards that need to be applied to ensure consistent regulation. Those standards relate to speed, clear prohibition of usage on footpaths, the insertion of the sound, clear designated parking bays and a minimum age restriction. For us, those are the basics that need to go into legislation. If they are not clearly set out in legislation, problems will arise in the context of enforcement. It is unclear in the legislation as it stands who will be fully enforcing it. Will that fall to the Garda or to local authorities? There needs to be greater clarity in that regard because without clear enforcement this legislation will not become live or will not be fully abided by. We need clear enforcement in order to manage pedestrian and wider behaviour and to ensure the whole environment is safe for everybody.

As regards whether having these basic minimum safety standards would mitigate against the need for insurance, that is a bigger debate. There is a big difference between private ownership and shared scheme ownership, yet both models are being placed within this legislative framework. We need to be clear. One does not necessarily want to have distinctions. At the end of the day, e-scooter riders are e-scooter riders, so the same parameters need to apply.