Erin McGreehan (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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58. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the efforts of his Department to address the misuse of e-scooters in residential areas. [54053/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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Road traffic legislation is enforced as part of the day-to-day duties of members of An Garda Síochána. This includes a programme of high-visibility road safety and enforcement operations carried out in partnership with other State agencies. Our goal is to make our roads safer for all.

Legislation and policy concerning road traffic and road safety rests under the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Darragh O'Brien TD. The Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business, which includes all operational policing matters and is independent in these functions under the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024.

Gardaí have, through various media and social media platforms, highlighted the dangers associated with the misuse of e-scooters.

In order to combat dangerous behaviour, intelligence is gathered at local level and areas are targeted as appropriate. Garda operations targeting the illegal use of those vehicles involve all members who are assigned to operational duties.

E-scooters can be legally used on public roads only if they meet the technical and usage requirements for the category. The safety requirements for e-scooters in Ireland are governed by S.I. No. 199/2024 - Road Traffic (Electric Scooters) Regulations 2024.

The requirements for an e-scooter to be used on public roads include that it must have a maximum design speed of 20 kilometres per hour or less, have a maximum continuous rated power output of 400 watts or less, and have a maximum net weight of 25 kilograms.

To enforce these regulations, Gardaí are deploying four testing units called dynamometers on a regional basis, with one unit assigned to each of the four Garda regions, including the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR).

This initiative is at proof-of-concept stage so Gardaí are not in a position to report on the number of tests conducted until the pilot is complete.