Patrick Costello
Question:388. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Transport when the relevant part of the Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023 will be enacted which allows gardaí to seize e-scooters. [38731/23]
View answerMonday, 11 September 2023
Questions (388)
Written answers
The Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023 was signed into law by the President on 23 June 2023. This is a large piece of legislation which covers a multitude of topics.
Under the Programme for Government, it was agreed that the Government would legislate for the use of e-scooters. The Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023 creates a new vehicle category, Powered Personal Transporters (PPTs), which includes e-scooters and future micro-mobility devices as needed. PPTs do not require registration, motor tax, insurance or a driving licence to use on Irish roads.
PPTs may not be used until regulations, setting out technical standards and how they may be safely used on Irish roads, are in place. Therefore e-scooters are not presently legal for use on public roads and will not become so until these regulations are in place. E-scooters that do not comply with the regulations will remain illegal for use on Irish roads.
Section 32 of the Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023 amends section 41 of the Road Traffic Act 1994 to allow An Garda Síochána to seize PPTs (e-scooters) that are in contravention of regulations under Section 11 or in contravention of Section 54 of the Road Traffic Act 1961.
Until the commencement of the new provisions, e-scooters are still legally classed as mechanically propelled vehicles. As such they can be seized by the Garda under current legislation if used in a public place without tax or insurance.
It is anticipated that all regulations for e-scooters will be in place in Q4 2023, with the new provisions to be commenced when the regulations are ready.