New e-scooter rules 'meaningless' unless they are properly enforced, says Cork councillor 

As updated e-scooter rules come into effect, the government has been warned that it will be meaningless without proper enforcement.

Minister for transport Darragh O’Brien and minister of state with responsibility for road safety, Seán Canney, on Wednesday secured Government approval for a package of regulatory and administrative changes to improve  road safety.

This includes e-scooter regulations which will increase the minimum age for users to 18 and make helmets and high-visibility clothing mandatory.

The rules will also increase the fixed charge penalty notice for all e-scooter offences to €100, and double fees for the release of detained e-scooters to €80 for the first day and €30 for each subsequent day.

The Department of Transport will further engage with the Department of Justice, An Garda Síochána and relevant stakeholders in the coming months to explore further proposals.

These include vehicle registration, mandatory insurance and the requirement to hold a valid driving licence or learner’s permit.

In light of these changes, the Department of Transport will now pause and review funding of public e-scooters schemes.

Cork City Council’s Transport committee chairman, Labour’s Peter Horgan, said: “Enforcing these laws is what saves lives.

“We can continue introducing new rules around e-scooters, dangerous driving and road safety, but if there are not enough gardaí available to enforce those laws, then they risk becoming little more than words on paper.

“Our roads policing members do an outstanding job, but they cannot be everywhere at once. 

"Cork has grown significantly in recent years, traffic volumes have increased, and new forms of transport such as e-scooters have become commonplace. Resources must grow alongside those changes.”