Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 June 2026
248. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of fixed charge notices, prosecutions and other enforcement actions relating to breaches of the statutory speed limit for electric scooters that have been issued; the mechanisms currently available to An Garda Síochána to detect and enforce speed limit breaches by electric scooter users; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44709/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraOur road safety strategy takes a whole of government approach and is a shared responsibility. Development and implementation of road traffic legislation and policy falls within the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Transport, and the vital role of enforcing road traffic laws is carried out by An Garda Síochána.
Gardaí have significant legislative powers to combat the antisocial and dangerous misuse of e-scooters, e-bikes and scramblers and other such vehicles and I am assured that An Garda Síochána continues to adopt a proactive approach in addressing this issue.
The Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána under section 33 of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024, which includes all operational policing matters, such as the management of the Fixed Charge Processing System.
Since the introduction of e-scooter legislation on 20 May 2024, there have been 1,694 Fixed Charge Notices issued for these offences. The table below has been provided to me by the Garda authorities and provides a breakdown of these offences by division.
Figures are based on incidents which occurred from 20 May 2024 to 30 April 2026, inclusive. Figures of less than ten are not disclosed for data protection reasons as low numbers could be locally identifiable. Consequently an annualised breakdown has not been provided.
|
Division |
FCNs Issued |
|
Clare/Tipperary |
34 |
|
Cork City |
48 |
|
Cork County |
25 |
|
DMR Eastern |
14 |
|
DMR North Central |
189 |
|
DMR Northern |
85 |
|
DMR South Central |
306 |
|
DMR Southern |
85 |
|
DMR Western |
84 |
|
Donegal |
21 |
|
Galway |
81 |
|
Kerry |
50 |
|
Kildare/Carlow |
222 |
|
Laois/Offaly |
85 |
|
Limerick |
38 |
|
Louth/Cavan/Monaghan |
86 |
|
Mayo/Roscommon/Longford |
38 |
|
Meath/Westmeath |
13 |
|
Sligo/Leitrim |
20 |
|
Waterford/Kilkenny |
94 |
|
Wexford/Wicklow |
76 |
|
Grand Total |
1,694 |
Road traffic legislation provides for the detention, removal, storage and subsequent release or disposal of electric scooters by an Garda Síochána.I am further informed by the Garda authorities that based on reported PULSE incidents of ‘Vehicle Detained’ and ‘Property Seized’ the following table describes the number of incidents in which e-scooters were seized or detained nationally in 2024, 2025 and 2026.
|
|
2024 |
2025 |
2026 (as of 31 March) |
|
Incidents where e-scooters were seized or detained |
310 |
931 |
754 |
These figures are based on incidents which occurred from 1 January 2024 to 31 March 2026, inclusive. Figures for ‘seized or detained’ above are for those vehicles seized or detained under the incident types of ‘Vehicle Detained’, ‘Vehicle Detained Under Sec 41’ and ‘Property Seized'.
The information includes incidents where more than one vehicle was detained or seized. All information above is based upon operational data from the Fixed Charge Processing System and PULSE system and is liable to change.
The Deputy may also be interested to note that to assist with the enforcement of the Road Traffic (Electric Scooters) Regulations 2024, An Garda Síochána launched its E-Scooter/E-bike Dynamometer Proof of Concept exercise in April 2025. This trial involved the deployment of four portable dynamometers designed to measure the maximum capable speed that an e-scooter or e-bike could achieve. These devices were deployed to each Garda Region (DMR, Eastern, Southern and North Western) with each Region maintaining autonomy on where the dynamometer could be deployed within the Region. Dedicated targeted operations took place with a particular focus on urban areas and larger towns.
