From today, Friday 2 October, anyone under 18 is banned from riding an e-scooter in a public place in Ireland. The minimum age has risen from 16 to 18, after Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien and Minister of State Seán Canney signed the regulations on 22 September. On the same day, the fees for getting a seized e-scooter back have doubled to €80 for detention and the first day of storage, and €30 for every day after that.
It’s the second major change in a month, landing four weeks after helmets and high-vis became mandatory for every rider. The whole crackdown traces back to July, when Temple Street reported six children in intensive care with e-scooter injuries in a single fortnight. I’ve been following it closely on Goosed, from arguing that Ireland needs e-scooter enforcement rather than a ban to the union representing Gardaí admitting enforcement of the new e-scooter laws would be weak. Today’s ban is the most significant step yet, and the one most likely to be tested on the street.
What does the e-scooter ban for under 18s mean?
If you’re under 18, you can no longer legally ride an e-scooter on any road, cycle lane or other public place in Ireland, full stop. That includes 16 and 17-year-olds who were riding a fully compliant scooter perfectly legally yesterday.
The change raises the age set in the Road Traffic (Electric Scooters) Regulations 2024, the rules that made e-scooters legal here in May 2024. Nothing else about what makes a scooter legal has moved. It still has to be capped at 20km/h, rated at no more than 400W and weigh under 25kg, and riders now need a helmet and high-vis on top. Gardaí can seize a scooter being ridden in breach of the rules, and with today’s fee increase, a week in storage will set you back €260 before you see it again.
Who gets fined if an under 18 rides an e-scooter?
The owner of the scooter can be, as well as the rider. The 2024 regulations already say that when an e-scooter is used in a public place in breach of the rules, its owner also commits an offence. Because the age limit sits in those same rules, an under-18 caught on a scooter puts the person who owns it on the hook too.
The Government has been clear that this applies whether or not the owner is the child’s parent. So if you’ve been letting your 17-year-old borrow your scooter for the trip to school, or lending one to a niece or nephew, that stops today.
Can shops still sell e-scooters to under 18s?
Yes, for now. The ban on selling e-scooters to under 18s isn’t part of today’s change. It’s waiting on new legislation due later this year, the same bill that’s meant to bring in e-scooter registration and reclassify them as mechanically propelled vehicles. Until it passes, the existing offence of supplying an e-scooter to a child is still pegged at under 16.
That leaves a gap where a 17-year-old can walk into a shop and buy an e-scooter they’re not allowed to ride. The Tánaiste has already urged parents to stop thinking of e-scooters as toys, and that message matters more than ever with Christmas a couple of months away.
Why did the e-scooter ban for under 18s take so long?
It was announced in July alongside the helmet and high-vis rules, with all three due in August. In August, the age change was pulled after the Attorney General advised that primary legislation would be needed, and it was due to be folded into the bigger e-scooter bill instead. Then in September, the Department said the EU’s usual 12-week standstill period for new technical rules no longer applied, and the ban was brought in by ministerial regulation after all. The age of 16 was set the same way back in 2024, so how that squares with the August advice still hasn’t been explained.
Will the under-18 e-scooter ban be enforced?
On the evidence of the last month, I wouldn’t bet on it. Early signs are that compliance with the helmet and high-vis rules is low, and a month on, the €100 on-the-spot fine for riding without them still hasn’t been brought in. It’s due to arrive alongside an increase in all e-scooter fixed charge notices from €50 to €100, which the Minister says is coming shortly.
Gardaí are clearly busy, with 754 e-scooters seized in the first three months of this year alone. The problem is the riders who don’t stop. The Garda Representative Association has already said publicly that Gardaí have no safe way to pursue them, and a 16-year-old on an overpowered scooter who was ignoring the rules yesterday has no new reason to pull in today.
While some are saying compliance has been somewhat low, I strongly disagree. While there remains some riders not wearing a helmet or hiviz, personally I’ve seen more regular riders complying than not. Now, there is a cohort of overpowered scooters that don’t comply, but they were never going to, highlighting the weakness in the Government’s overall approach.
To be honest, I’m not against an age limit on principle. When I set out how Ireland could make electric scooters safe without a ban in July, I argued the minimum age should apply to riding, not just buying, and the Government has now gone further than the 16 I suggested. That said, the children who ended up in intensive care this summer were mostly under 16, and they were already banned. A higher age limit only protects anyone if it’s enforced, and every rule announced this summer has arrived late, in pieces, or without the penalty meant to give it teeth.
If you’re 18 or over and riding, the full list of what your scooter and kit need to meet is on the RSA’s official e-scooter rules page.
