No data on the number of e-scooter injuries reported at Cork University Hospital, says HSE

No data is available on the amount of e-scooter injuries reported at Cork University Hospital, the HSE has said.

It comes as Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) confirmed that 1,130 attendances for e-scooter-related injuries among children were recorded at its emergency departments between January 2021 and August 2025.

The hospital group, which operates four children’s hospitals in Dublin, also estimated that one to two e-scooter injuries among children are currently presenting to its emergency departments each day.

The information was provided in response to a parliamentary question by Cork Independent Ireland TD Ken O’Flynn.

Information not available

A spokesperson for HSE South West told The Echo that it did not have figures for the emergency department in CUH.

“The hospital does not maintain electronic records of e-scooter-related incidents, so this information is not available,” said the spokesperson.

A CHI report recently recorded a sharp increase in the number of children being admitted to hospital with traumatic brain injuries as a result of e-scooter incidents, 53% of which needed emergency brain surgery.

Dr Eanna Mac Suibhne, an emergency medicine consultant at Cork University Hospital, previously told The Echo: “We’ve seen a sustained increase in e-scooter injuries over the last number of years, and the injuries can be quite severe.

“We’ve seen lots of quite significant traumatic brain injuries.

“Because of the mechanics of an e-scooter, riders are standing upright over the wheels, which are small, narrow, and close together — when you lose control, you are propelled off the e-scooter, your centre of gravity is much higher than on a bicycle.”

Common injuries include lacerations on the face and body, upper limb fractures, abdominal and spinal trauma.