2026-01-27

153. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of e-scooters tests that have been completed in the Dublin metropolitan region since July 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6194/26]

I have raised the issue of e-scooters here before. I ask the Minister the number of e-scooters tests that have been done in the Dublin metropolitan region since the Garda got the ability to do it in July 2025, and if he will make a statement on it.

The Deputy has raised the issues of e-scooters and scramblers before. Deputy McAuliffe, who has consistently raised the issue of scramblers, is seated beside Deputy Ó Muirí. I take this opportunity to express my condolences to Grace Lynch's parents, Siobhán and Martin, on her horrific death last weekend. Obviously, I am not going to talk in too much detail about it because I am conscious that a man was charged this evening with a criminal offence. On the matter raised by the Deputy, he will be aware that regulations were signed into law in 2024 by the then Minister for Transport to provide that an e-scooter can only have a maximum design speed of 20 km/h or less. An e-scooter which does not meet the technical requirements may not legally be used on public roads. Additionally, the Road Traffic Act makes dangerous driving an offence in all locations, not just on public roads, and provides the Garda with new powers of seizure. The Garda has undertaken a proof-of-concept project for the introduction of mobile dynamometers for the purpose of enforcing these e-scooter regulations. They were distributed across the four Garda regions. Dedicated targeted operations took place with a particular focus on urban areas and larger towns. I am informed by the Garda that the evaluation period has now been concluded following the use of the four dynamometer devices nationally. I am informed that the number of tests undertaken did not form part of the evaluation. I can report, however, that there were 958 fixed-charge notices issued for e-scooter-related offences in 2025 and that there were 817 e-scooters seized or detained in 2025. Garda authorities also advise that, further to the proof of concept, gardaí are in favour of the organisation having wider access to such technology and that gardaí operating checkpoints using the dynamometers reported high levels of public interest and engagement. People were curious and I understand that Garda management is currently assessing options regarding the purchase and allocation of dynamometers to roads policing units.

I join the Minister in offering my condolences to Grace Lynch's family on a tragic situation in Finglas. I thank the Minister for the information. There has been quite a bit of interest in what the Garda was doing. Issuing 958 fixed-penalty notices and seizing 817 e-scooters represent good progress. I support the roll-out of the technology further afield. Recent RSA research shows e-scooters are now perceived as the most dangerous mode of transport in Ireland, more dangerous than motorbikes in fact. CHI statistics from Temple Street show that, since May of last year, 25 children were admitted with an e-scooter-related traumatic brain injury. The issues that e-scooters bring are very serious and very real for young people. The Garda Síochána's own statistics show there was a big uptick in serious accidents involving e-scooters in late 2025. I appreciate ongoing support in that area.

Last night in Finglas, hundreds of people came out to support the Lynch family and to tell the Garda, Government and particularly those who recklessly and dangerously drive e-scooters and scramblers illegally that enough is enough. Grace Lynch was a beautiful young girl with her whole life ahead of her and that was robbed from her on Sunday afternoon. Our community is sad but we are not surprised because we have been talking about it for years. In 2023, community leaders came here to the Public Gallery to welcome extensive new powers being given to the Garda, and yet today we are asking how were these new powers not enough? How were they not enforced? I thank the Minister for meeting me today. I know he has spoken to the Garda Commissioner. I know the Cabinet discussed this matter and I have discussed it with the Taoiseach. It is very simple: Finglas wants a ban on scramblers on roads and in public places. We want the ban fully enforced by senior gardaí and we want to make sure that every aspect of the State knows that this can never happen again.

I reiterate what Deputy McAuliffe from my neighbouring constituency has said. It is not just in one constituency but across Dublin. On my way in to Leinster House one day, I saw a scrambler with two young lads without helmets. When I was pulling into Leinster House, they were going in the opposite direction on the road. I offer my sympathy to Grace Lynch's mother, Siobhán, who spoke powerfully last night calling for scramblers and e-scooters to be banned. They are a scourge on our communities. Has there been any examination into the fear among gardaí chasing e-scooters and scramblers of GSOC taking them off the beat? Is that something that is being examined?

I thank the Deputies for their contributions. I commend Deputy McAuliffe on the role he played in enacting the amendment to the Road Traffic Act back in 2023. A significant legislative change was achieved as a result of that. Today when we all reflect on the awful death of Grace, we may think that not enough was done in respect of that legislation; a lot was done in that legislation. Most importantly, within it, the amendment of section 35 of the Road Traffic Act brought in by that legislation allows for the Minister for Transport to restrict or prohibit the use of specified vehicles in certain areas. Deputies will have heard the Taoiseach speaking in the House this afternoon. There is a commitment from Government that that amendment of section 35 will be invoked and I think it should be. The Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Canney, has committed to ensuring that there is a prohibition on the use of scramblers on public roads and in public parks. Scramblers should be used on designated tracks for scrambling bikes - we used to see them on the television years ago - or on pathways up the mountains. They are not for use on public roads. I know we will still have the same issue in respect of enforcement. It will be easier and there will be a societal response if there is a law saying that scramblers cannot be used on public roads.

Going back to e-scooters for a minute, I support their use. Number one, they are economical for those who use them. Number two, they are environmentally friendly as a means of going around the city. However, they have to be regulated because they have to be used safely. The challenge is getting people to use them safely. All the rules are in place in terms of age limits, speed limits of 20 km/h, safety gear - we could do more there - and passengers. People have to be on their own on an e-scooter. It is about enforcement, technology and empowering An Garda Síochána to keep up the good work they did last year and roll it out as far and wide as we can so that, eventually, e-scooters are being used safely.

I think we were all taken by the words of Siobhán when she spoke about her daughter, Grace Lynch, an absolute loss to the family and wider community in Finglas. There is a huge level of anger about what has happened on many working-class estates, not only in Dublin but in my county of Louth, particularly in Dundalk and Drogheda. There are a huge number of scramblers and e-scooters, some of which have been modified and are technically illegal, but we also hear of drone units that cannot be put into operation and guidelines that are not in place. While the Minister might say a lot has been done, not enough has been done. We need an answer. None of this is good enough. The community and the country demand action. We cannot let this go after the loss of Grace Lynch. It is a wonder we have not dealt with more of these serious circumstances in recent times.

My own view is the death of Grace Lynch is a watershed moment. Sometimes those events happen and, I regret to say, her death could be a watershed in the change of attitude of policymakers, legislators and the public to scramblers. I hear what Deputy Ó Muiri said about e-scooters. They are a separate issue but the presence of scramblers on public roads, in parks and on public pathways is unacceptable. They should not be used there. They are a threat to people, not just because they are being driven dangerously but because they were never designed for use on public roads. The law exists. We do not have to go through the Houses of the Oireachtas making new laws. The laws are there. When the regulations are signed by the Minister for Transport, they will send a clear message and show scramblers simply cannot be used on public paths, in public parks or in public areas. It is my hope it will provide for that.