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

A senior member of An Garda Síochána in Cork has warned that new e-scooter regulations will “make absolutely zero difference” as gardaí remain without appropriate powers to enforce them.

“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 Cork’s representative on the Garda Representative Association.

Figures from CHI Temple Street showed 30 children had been 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. 

New regulations 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.

Det Harrington said gardaí who use their personal driving licences in day-to-day operations fear 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 the young fella comes off and he gets injured, that they’ll face an investigation where they’ll face prosecution.

“There aren’t too many guards out there interested in putting their own driver’s licence at risk for the Garda Commissioner or the Minister for Justice.

“When the juveniles that want to break the law realise that the law currently, as it is, is unenforceable, they’re not going to stop at any of those normal checkpoints.” 

Responding to queries, the Department of Justice said the Government was committed to arming gardaí with apt resources and legislation and that concerns around additional protection for gardaí in pursuit were being considered by minister Jim O’Callaghan. 

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

“An outright ban on them isn’t possible. I don’t think making the age 18 is realistic when you can be on a motorbike at 16,” he said.

“The problem is that those who are using them unlawfully will continue to use them unlawfully.”