Cork communities say new e-scooter legislation must be enforced to crack down on 'reckless' behaviour 

A week after the Government announced plans to tackle the risks associated with e-scooters, Cork communities have spoken of a daily fear of tragedy and warned that new legislation will be meaningless without enforcement.

Under current legislation, e-scooters must not be operated by under-16s, but the medical community has enough horror stories to suggest this law is often not enforced.

Current legislation also states that e-scooters cannot be driven on footpaths or have more than one rider, and they must obey a speed limit of 20km/h.

From August, the ban on operating e-scooters will be extended to under-18s, and high-visibility jackets and helmets will be mandatory for riders.

The new laws around e-scooters are to come before Cabinet today.

Later this year, legislation will also be introduced requiring licensing and registration of e-scooters, and shops will be banned from selling them to minors.

Eugene Brady from Mayfield said his grandson was involved in an accident on an e-scooter last year and was blessed to escape without serious injury.

“He got off just in time,” he said. He thinks they should be banned completely. 

“There are 18-year-olds driving around on them with no helmets, nothing. They’re dangerous to people on them, and they’re dangerous to people walking around.”

Mr Brady accepted that the proposed ban on under-18s will be hard to enforce. 

“It’s like giving a child a toy, then saying you can’t have it. At the moment, you can still go into a toy shop and buy them.”

Children as young as eight spotted on e-scooters 

Michelle Buckley, a volunteer with Mahon Tidy Towns and Foróige, is seeing children as young as eight on e-scooters.

“They use the footpaths, which is dangerous for the elderly and people walking with buggies,” she said.

“A woman over by Lakelands was involved in an incident with an e-scooter, and she got hurt.

“I don’t think these young people even know the speed limits — for children under 16, parents should be held accountable.”

She says schools should also be bringing awareness about road safety and wearing helmets.

“It’s a motorised vehicle, so you should have to do your theory test, have lessons, apply for a licence, and have it taxed and registered,” she said.

Ms Buckley is not in favour of an outright ban, as this would affect people using them responsibly, she believes, such as adults who can’t afford a car.

Blackpool Community Centre chairwoman Louise Jordan said e-scooters and scramblers are now a big problem in the area.

“Older people do not feel safe walking on footpaths,” she said. “I appreciate the gardaí can’t chase the riders, but they have lost control of the situation now, and it will take ages to retrieve.”

She also cautioned against an outright ban, saying: “There are lots of people using e-scooters to commute to work and school — more cycle lanes should protect them from injury.”

Another woman, who lives in Mayfield, but did not wish to be named, has seen young people wearing balaclavas as they sped through the community on e-scooters.

“They’re also using them for drug activity,” she said. “They’re up and down the main road, obstructing traffic, down footpaths, and into playgrounds where young kids are playing. The youngsters doing it have no respect for others.

“A ban on people under 18 using them would be amazing, but the problem is the lack of a garda response.”

Fines issued 

Since May 2024, when legislation was introduced, just 48 fines have been issued in Cork city for [url=

https://www.echolive.ie/corknews/arid-41883016.html]breaches of e-scooter laws.[/url]

Independent councillor Kieran McCarthy warned that electric motorcycles and scramblers have become another source of concern.

“Recently, a handful of young individuals were speeding up and down The Marina, through Mahon, and also on the Douglas Road, on electric motorcycles — moving at pace, doing wheelies, moving in and out of traffic on the roads,” he said.

“They wore balaclavas and were provoking people, looking for a chase. The behaviour of the individuals involved was frightening people. It was reckless, and life-threatening — if you didn’t jump out of the way.”

On this occasion, gardaí spoke to some of the young people and confiscated several bikes.

Worker’s Party councillor Jerrica Struthers said she fears for the safety of small children and elderly people.

“My heart absolutely sinks every time I hear the roar of a scrambler or see an e-scooter flying down a narrow footpath,” Ms Struthers said.

“Every working-class parent knows that exact feeling, that sudden panic where you’re grabbing your smallie’s hand, or praying your elderly neighbour doesn’t get knocked down right outside their own front door. 

“These machines are being clocked at mental speeds, treated like toys, when they’re actually dangerous weapons.

“They’re tearing up paths meant for pedestrians, kids playing, mothers with buggies, workers walking to the bus, wheelchair users, and the elderly.

“I worry for the people riding these bikes and scooters as well. If a car even clips one of them, the person on that scooter is going to end up in a critical condition.

“We need an outright commercial and road ban on e-scooters.”

Independent Ireland’s Noel O’Flynn said that he would also support an outright ban, calling the latest proposed legislation “piecemeal”.

He said: “Any step in the right direction is important, but I don’t think it’s going to work.”

Labour councillor Peter Horgan said a lack of garda resources is going to hinder proper enforcement, a sentiment echoed by Sinn Féin TD Thomas Gould.

“I am deeply concerned that there are simply not enough garda resources to tackle scramblers and enforce new rules on e-scooters in Cork,” said Mr Gould.

“It is unfair on gardaí and communities to make these promises without the resources to enforce them.”

A Garda spokesperson said: “An Garda Síochána continues to adopt a proactive approach in addressing the illegal and dangerous use of scramblers, quads, e-bikes, and e-scooters. 

“There is an array of current legislation that tackles this problem. This legislation provides powers to seize, detain, and dispose of illegal vehicles that are being used in any public spaces.

“An Garda Síochána is appealing to parents and guardians to ensure that their children do not have access to e-scooters.”