Legislation on electric scooters needed immediately to avoid confusion – Rock

Fine Gael TD for Dublin North West, Noel Rock has today (Sunday) called on the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to enact legislation in the immediate future to ensure that electric scooters are not considered Mechanically Propelled Vehicles (MPVs) under the Road Traffic Act.

Speaking on the matter, Deputy Rock said, “There has been much confusion among the Department, the Gardaí and the Road Safety Authority on this matter. We are witnessing a number of seizures of these scooters across Dublin along with incidents where owners are correctly pointing out that electric scooters are not considered MPVs as they need to a push or scoot to operate the battery to allow it to run. Some owners are receiving fines of €125. This is not acceptable and we, as a country, need to move along with technological advances and ensure we legislate correctly for these devices.

“I have been raising this matter for a year now and since I initially raised it, the popularity of electric scooters has skyrocketed and they are visible across the city on a daily basis. Not only does this help to ease congestion in Dublin, and hopefully other cities in Ireland, but they also have a positive effect on our environment, something which is important to this Government and citizens alike. I have also met with a number of individuals who are keen to operate a sharing scheme, similar to the Dublin Bikes scheme, for these devices. This would be a further benefit to the economy if this legislation was passed,” continued Deputy Rock.

“I hope the Minister will respond proactively to this matter. He and his Department have a real opportunity to make a positive impact and change not only in progressing us along with technological advancements but also in our plans on climate action and the local issues of congestion in our cities. Serious action is needed on this, even if that means the implementation of some form of trial or pilot in a limited area,” concluded Deputy Rock.