Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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80. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport when the Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023 will come into force. [34604/23]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023 was recently signed into law by the President on 23 June 2023. This is a large piece of legislation which covers a multitude of topics.

In the Programme for Government, we committed to addressing a number of concerns, such as the use of e-scooters, variable speed limits, rollout out of zero to low emissions vehicles and the necessary infrastructure, BusConnects Projects, E-Bikes, and prohibiting the anti-social use of scramblers and quads. The Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023 will aid in the implementation of these commitments.

Work on the relevant commencement orders has already begun and it is anticipated that the first tranche of commencements will be completed by the end of July. The provisions commenced in this tranche will include a number of sections such as those relating to scramblers, BusConnects, variable speed limits, the Motor Insurance Database, penalty points for dangerous overtaking, and Local Authority powers in relation to maintenance works.

Work is ongoing on the remaining provisions to be commenced. It is anticipated that these will come into effect over the remainder of this year or in early 2024.