Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the debate today on e-scooters. We are increasingly seeing these vehicles on the roads and footpaths across the city and they are becoming a familiar sight, for example, around the roads leading to DCU in my own area. I can see the attraction of this carbon-free, affordable mode of transport, especially among the younger population. However, I do have concerns about their use in pedestrian areas as well as the way some scooters are used on main thoroughfares. I also have concerns about the safe use of e-scooters, not just with regard to the person on the e-scooter but also the public. There is an obvious grey area in law with regard to e-scooters and this needs to be addressed.

I know there are some who are opposed to these vehicles and see them as a public nuisance. We are not talking about banning this form of transport but we must give serious consideration as to how we want to regulate e-scooters. A time-limited public consultation is under way at the moment, which I support. This consultation process will be complete in a matter of weeks. I hope that this consultation process is not being done in a cynical way and that when the process is completed, the outcome of the consultation will be given due consideration and acted on. We will be supporting the Fine Gael amendment, but in doing so, we need a commitment from the Minister that he will act when the consultation concludes.

A colleague of mine visited Brussels recently. The model there seems to be what is called the hire model, where a user hires an e-scooter and when he or she is finished with it, simply drops it wherever it ends up. This is convenient for some and maybe the community of users of such vehicles in Brussels can work this system, but it might be difficult to imagine e-scooters simply being dropped off in Grafton Street or Henry Street. A recent report by fora.iestated that Paris has introduced new local laws to restrict where e-scooters can be parked to avoid obstructions. There may be a number of issues that will need to be considered as part of the consultation process. For example, should we have a licence plate or some sort of other visible ID for the vehicle? My experience in Dublin shows me that the reality is that we are far from having an advanced, developed first-class public transport system. Simply inviting companies to put thousands of e-scooters on the streets is not a magic solution to climate or public transport problems. The larger questions, which remain unanswered, are about the lack of investment and planning, particularly in public transport.

I agree that e-scooters should be regulated. However, I am also concerned that Fianna Fáil's Bill and its interpretation of how they should be regulated may not go far enough. I am a firm supporter of the need to adapt to changing technologies and encourage environmentally-friendly means of transport. We should be open to innovations that change our cities and the lives of those who live in them for the better. I welcome this debate but I also encourage the public to get involved and give their views on e-scooters as part of the current ongoing public consultation process, which will conclude on 1 November.

We do not only have to think about e-scooters, but also of what Bills we will be looking at next. Will we have to regulate hoverboards, wheel hoverboards or hovercarts? We have seen them around the city. Are they next?

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