LAST UPDATE | 2 Sep

FROM THIS FRIDAY, 4 September, it will become mandatory for e-scooter users to wear a helmet and high-visibility clothing. 

Anyone not wearing a helmet or high-vis can be issued a fixed charge penalty of €100.

The move comes in response to the increasing number of serious head injuries and fatalities associated with e-scooter usage. 

However, a planned ban on e-scooters for under 18s has been delayed until later this year. 

Currently, the use of e-scooters is banned for anyone under the age of 16 and devices used on public roads cannot exceed a design speed of 20 km/h.

Last month, a fresh suite of regulations on e-scooter use was announced by Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien and junior minister with responsibility for road safety Sean Canney. 

It was initially planned that the ban for under 18s would be introduced at the same time as the requirement to wear a high-vis and a helmet, but following legal advice from the attorney general, the under 18s ban has been delayed. 

This is to allow time for an assessment of the measure to be carried out by the EU Commission as part of the EU TRIS (Technical Regulation Information System) process.

This process takes up to 12 weeks, and it is intended that these regulations will be introduced before the end of the year.

Speaking on his way into cabinet this afternoon, Canney said that further legislation will be brought in in the coming months to allow for the prosecution of registered e-scooter owners who allow children to use them on public roads.

The new laws would classify e-scooters in the same category as motorcycles and cars, meaning owners will have to be registered and will require a licence.

The proposed reclassification of e-scooters as mechanically propelled vehicles is set to come into effect in the next few months.

The clampdown on e-scooter use comes after data from Children’s Health Ireland and the HSE indicated a concerning pattern of serious and life changing injuries caused by them.

More than one third of all paediatric traumatic brain injury admissions to CHI at Temple Street in 2026 were related to e-scooters.

Admissions for traumatic brain injuries from e-scooter accidents increased by 50% in the last 12 months.