Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senators for their contributions and support for the Bill. I hope to briefly address some of the issues raised and we can return to them on Committee Stage and Report Stage.

To respond to Senator Boyhan, it is currently possible to pay a fixed-charge notice issued by An Garda Síochána in advance in the way the Senator set out. The Bill expands this to notices issued by traffic wardens. It will hopefully expand the mechanism whereby people do not have to go to court or spend a length of time in court.

The Senator also raised a concern about disabled parking bays. I agree that the regulation of those bays needs to be addressed. The Bill addresses fraudulent application for disabled parking permits. It is an extensive Bill. I only read out some of the key, pertinent points in my opening speech.

Since the introduction of penalty points, it has been a principle that they are used only for driving offences, with the sole exception being dangerous parking because such an offence affects moving traffic. We can certainly look at enhancing penalties for misuse of disabled parking spaces.

On insurance for e-scooters, EU law sets out the requirement for mandatory insurance for vehicles above certain power specifications. The Bill defines what PPTs are and as they are below these power specifications, they will not require insurance, which high-powered scooters will require. Vehicles that count as PPTs will be under the internationally agreed framework, which makes sense.

I think Senator Buttimer asked about a timeline regarding e-scooters. We will need three months after the passing of the Bill to ensure, in accordance with European guidelines, that the provisions are compliant with the EU Single Market and so on. I regret that this is a 2021 Bill and we are now in 2022. It should be enacted. I hope it will get through the Seanad this year and that it will be signed into law next year.