Regulation of E Scooters called for by local Sinn Féin TD

Laois Offaly Sinn Féin TD, Brian Stanley, raised the issue of driver testing waiting times and the regulation of E- Scooters with Minister Jack Chambers and An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar in the Dail recently.

The most recent reply received by Deputy Stanley from Minister Jack Chambers, outlines that additional driving testers have been recruited into the system and that the overall number has increased by 41, bringing the total number to 205 in the State. Sanction has also been given to the Road Safety Authority (RSA) to increase these numbers to alleviate any further pressures in the coming months.

The Departmentof Transport is working closely with the RSA to monitor demand and to ensure that the RSA meet the agreed service level agreement average waiting time of 10 weeks. "The RSA are expected to achieve this by the middle of this year, and it is important that this happens as the waiting times in Laois / Offaly area are excessive. Many drivers that have applied in Birr and Portlaoise Centres for a test are facing waiting periods in excess of 6 months" said Deputy Stanley, who added that "this is causing problems for young drivers and workers in rural areas and people who depend on their car for their livelihood."

The need for regulation of E Scooters has been raised in the local Joint Police Committee meetings, and numerous members of the public have complained to Deputy Stanley about their use on footpaths. "I have been urging the Government to enact legislation to regulate their use and improve safety for their use and that of pedestrians on footpaths and I received the following reply from the Minister:

'The Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023 creates a new vehicle category, called powered personal transporters (PPTs), which includes e-scooters. My Department had expected to commence the parts of the Act relating to PPTs, and to introduce regulations for e-scooters, following the EU TRIS process under the Single Market Transparency Directive (EU) 2015/1535. However, some technical and legal issues were identified during drafting, in part taking account of comments received from the EU Commission during the TRIS process, which have delayed their introduction. Regulations for e-scooters are now expected to be in place in Q1 2024. E-scooters will not be legal to use in public places until that time.'