‘E-scooters should be seized’

A Mullingar elected representative is calling for the confiscation of any e-scooter found travelling on footpaths. E-scooters were officially banned from footpaths in Ireland in May of 2024, under regulations that simultaneously legalised their use on public roads.

The practice continues to pose problems across the country. Raising the issue at the March meeting of the Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District, Cllr Andrew Duncan said: “This is something I’m sure everybody’s getting a little bit of grief over, these e-scooters. I’ve had two people come to me in the last month. One said they were nearly run over by a scooter and one said they nearly ran over one of them.”

Cllr Duncan highlighted the danger e-scooters posed for pedestrians: “We’re all seeing the problem. We all see these individuals going up and down in black hoodies, taking up the middle of the street and then other ones on the footpath. The ones on the street are not that big a problem, but the ones on the footpath are a big problem because you can’t hear them coming.”

The Fine Gael councillor asked what actions the council could take: “I understand it’s a garda matter, but what can we do? What can we, as a council, do to discourage them from utilising the footpaths?”

Replying on behalf of the executive, director of service, Deirdre Reilly, acknowledged the issue: “All we can do is meet the guards and see how we can help them. See if there is any way we assist with any enforcement issues they are having.”

“Can we have that meeting with them?” Cllr Duncan replied. “This is a real issue. It’s only a matter of time before someone gets hurt. I think we have to do something sooner rather than later.”

Speaking to the Examiner after the meeting, Cllr Duncan emphasised the frequency of the problem.

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“I mentioned two recent representations, but I have had 22 in the last year. One person who contacted me nearly got run over on the footpath, the other nearly got hit walking out of a shop,” he said.

“Those scooters should not be on the footpaths – they make no sound and they travel at high speed.

“There was an incident on Patrick’s Street about a year ago. A person came out of a shop with boxes and the e-scooter driver clipped them and came out on the road. Only for the awareness of the driver, they would have been run over. There are real problems emerging with them,” said Cllr Duncan.

There have been a significant number of fixed-charge notices for illegal e-scooter usage since legislation was brought in, but no formal court prosecutions: “It’s so hard to police. The meeting with the gardaí will hopefully kick start something,” Cllr Duncan said.

“There needs to be more of a cultural shift. If people are caught on the footpaths, then their vehicles should be confiscated.”