New laws allowing e-scooters on public roads delayed until next year

The regulations allowing e-scooters on the roads form part of the Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023. While it passed into law in June, the e-scooter sections have yet to be commenced. File picture

New regulations that would allow the public to legally use e-scooters on Irish roads have been delayed until early next year.

Minister of State at the Department of Transport Jack Chambers said the delay was due to having to refer Ireland’s new measures to the European Commission.

“E-scooters will not be legal to use in public places until that time,” he said, in response to a parliamentary question.

“No e-scooter which exceeds the parameters for maximum weight, power output and design speed will be permitted for use in public places."

Last month, the Irish Examiner reported that new restrictions to be rolled out for e-scooters will also ban their use by anyone under the age of 16 after a U-turn by the transport minister following lobbying over road safety concerns.

The regulations allowing e-scooters on the roads form part of the Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023. While it passed into law in June, the e-scooter sections have yet to be commenced.

Mr Chambers said the regulations had to be notified to the EU’s Tris process under the Single Market Transparency Directive.

“Some technical and legal issues were identified during drafting, in part taking account of recent comments received from the EU Commission during the TRIS process, which have delayed their introduction,” he said. “Regulations for e-scooters are now expected to be in place in Q1 2024.” 

Earlier this week, the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland said it upheld a complaint against retailer Harvey Norman over its advertisement of an e-scooter as “perfect for consumers”.

Harvey Norman said it was based on guidance at the time from Government legislation that was expected to be passed and enacted that would allow e-scooters to be used without tax or insurance as long as they didn’t exceed 25km/hr.

In its decision, the ASAI said there was an expectation the Government legislation would be passed into law, but this was not completed by the time the advertisement aired.

The watchdog added advertising claims should not be made on any expected changes in the law until such a time as the legislation is fully in place.