Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing with Deputies Lahart and Butler, as well as Deputy O'Keeffe if he arrives in time. I am glad to bring the Bill before the House on behalf of Fianna Fáil. In so doing, I wish to single out Deputy Troy. The Bill had its genesis in his work and that of our Dublin spokesperson, Deputy Lahart, who is beside me. They undertook considerable work on the issue rather than procrastinate on it endlessly like the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, who is not present. The Minister of State, Deputy Griffin, who is present, predominantly focuses on the areas of sport and possibly tourism. It is surprising that the Minister did not see fit to be here to discuss this important Bill. No doubt, there is a pressing photo call which trumps the need for e-transportation and support for those commuting in misery in Dublin in particular, as well as in many large towns and cities. It is regrettable that he is not present. Perhaps the Minister of State will enlighten us as to the current location of the Minister and his reason for being absent from the debate.

This issue is very much in the here and now. All Deputies see e-scooters every day, particularly in Dublin and large towns. Many people are at their wit's end trying to navigate congestion, over-capacity in rail and bus transportation and difficulties in going about their daily business when travelling to college, school or work. For such people, electric scooters work.

Under the current legislation, the 1961 Road Traffic Act, it is illegal to operate an e-scooter without tax and insurance. That anomaly must be addressed. As far back as 2017, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport discussed prevailing on the Road Safety Authority to introduce appropriate guidelines and considering legislating for e-scooters, but we are still waiting. Indeed, a Fine Gael Deputy saw fit to issue a press release last weekend to state that the Minister must stop dragging his heels on e-scooter legislation. That move was, no doubt, prompted by our Bill which has been on the Order Paper for several weeks. The Deputy stated that he had been raising this issue with the Minister for many years and so on. Needless to say, I agree fully with the Deputy. The Minister of State will be glad to hear that the Deputy in question is not an Independent but, rather, a member of his party. No doubt, he completely shares the sentiments outlined through the Fine Gael press office at the weekend in terms of the unnecessary delay and procrastination which is a hallmark of the Government. It tells us, "Leave it to us; we will look after this", on matters such as national broadband, the children's hospital, universal healthcare and countless other measures. However, all we get are photo calls, profile launches, celebrations, back slapping and so on.

I note the amendment tabled by the Government. Clearly, a significant amount of thought went into it. It can be paraphrased in one sentence: "Let us kick this can even further down the road." The most recent budget took a smoke and mirrors approach whereby capital expenditure is down €150 million compared with the mid-year forecast but current expenditure is up approximately €27 million.

We are robbing Peter to pay Paul. I know the Minister of State's aspect of the Department will be the larger beneficiary of that. There will be support for other photocalls during the Tokyo Olympics and the European under-20 championships, which we will be hosting.

The time for procrastination is over. We will not be supporting the Government amendment. We hope our colleagues in other parties are prepared to support this vital legislation. It is new territory for this country. It is new ground. We are open to useful amendments as we seek to regularise the situation for the many people who are already using e-scooters and to help us build on that. We know that public consultation is under way. It will be finished at the beginning of November, which is two weeks away. There is no need for a three-month delay. We need to press ahead. The outcome of the public consultation will coincide precisely with the Committee Stage debate on this Bill, if the Government is prepared to order it as such. We are open to any suggestions the Government may have with regard to this legislation that would help us to regularise the situation for people who use e-scooters.

This Bill seeks to amend the definition of a "mechanically propelled vehicle" in the Road Traffic Act 1961, thereby removing the need for tax and insurance in the case of e-scooters. It also seeks to amend the Road Safety Authority Act 2006 to give the RSA the ability to advise on the safest and best regulations we can use. This legislation will provide for the mandatory use of helmets. As my colleague, Deputy Lahart, has clarified, people will not be required to carry helmets the size of footballs under their arms. As technology comes forward from manufacturers, foldable and non-intrusive helmets are becoming available.

There are many good things in this Bill. If the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport had seen fit to be here today - he may participate in the Committee Stage debate - he might have made some tangible suggestions and we might even have embraced them. We look forward to doing so on Committee Stage, which is the appropriate time for such discussions. There should be no further procrastination. Delay is the hallmark of this Government. This was epitomised by Deputy Rock in his press release at the weekend. It came from the Department's press office. The Deputy said we need to see action because we have had enough delay on this matter.

This legislation is being proposed on behalf of people who are trying to think green, to get away from the misery of commuting and to take advantage of the technology that is available to them. They want to travel to work in an efficient manner on e-scooters with a carbon footprint that is a fraction of the carbon footprint of the standard combustible engines of buses, cars and vans, which we are all so used to.

I will hand over for now to Deputy Lahart and my other colleagues who wish to make some points on this legislation. I appreciate that the Minister of State may have been given a hospital pass in this regard. I am guessing that the Minister, Deputy Ross, is jetting off to the rugby match in Tokyo on Saturday. No doubt the Minister of State will be able to inform us. I hope his response will embrace the fact that this legislation is being introduced with sincerity and genuine thought for people who are bring criminalised, in effect, because of the Government's failure to bring forward appropriate regulations.

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