New e-scooter regulations will 'make absolutely zero difference', Cork garda says

Garda representative says officers lack the legal protections and enforcement powers needed to effectively police incoming e-scooter regulations

New e-scooter laws are planned to come into effect by the end of this month following a significant uptick in accidents leading to traumatic brain injuries. 

Frontline gardaí claim new e-scooter regulations will “make absolutely zero difference”, as the force does not have the appropriate powers to enforce the new laws.

“They're giving us the legislation, but they're not giving us the tools to implement it,” said Pádraig Harrington, a detective at Bridewell Garda Station and a senior member of the Garda Representative Association.

New e-scooter laws are planned to come into effect by the end of this month following a significant uptick in accidents leading to traumatic brain injuries. 

The latest international analysis shows e-scooter users are three times more likely to suffer brain injuries than motorcyclists. CHI Temple Street recently confirmed 30 children were admitted to emergency departments with e-scooter-related traumatic brain injuries between May 2024 and June 2026. At least seven more have been admitted since.

The new laws will raise the minimum age of e-scooter users from 16 to 18, mandate helmets and high-visibility clothing and increase fees for fixed charge notices and the release of detained scooters.

However, Det Harrington says gardaí who use their personal driving licences in day-to-day operations are worried pursuing offending e-scooter users could result in court proceedings for reckless driving that could see their licence stripped.

“If you’ve youngsters, juveniles, and they're not wearing helmets, they're not wearing a high-vis; They're going to continue doing that because the vast majority of them know that the guards are unlikely to chase,” he said.

The vast majority of guards don't want to chase them because they know that if they knock them off, if the young fella comes off and he gets injured, that they'll face an investigation where they’ll face prosecution.

“There isn't too many guards out there interested in putting their own driver's licence at risk for the Garda commissioner or for the minister for justice."

He said young offenders who want to break the law realise the law as it stands is unenforceable, and are not going to stop at any of the normal checkpoints.

But Detective Harrington said he did not think such a ban was possible. 

He said while e-scooters were used in Cork to facilitate drug-dealing and theft, there are many others using them legitimately.

“I also don't think making the age 18 is realistic when you can be on a motorbike at 16,” he said.

“It should be the age 16…Your problem is that those who are using them unlawfully will continue to use them unlawfully.” 

He suggested a system where e-scooters were registered and traced akin to motorbikes. Similar measures have been touted by transport minister Darragh O’Brien.

He conceded a measure would be difficult to enforce, with a proliferation of untraceable e-scooters already present on Irish roads. 

A 2024 Road Safety Authority study identified 4% of the adult population as being regular e-scooter users.