Ban on use of e-scooters by under 18s comes into force

A ban on the use of e-scooters for under-18s comes into effect today, just four weeks after new regulations requiring e-scooter users to wear helmets and high visibility clothing came into force.

Compliance with those new measures appears to be very low but the Transport Minister Darragh O'Brien say's while it takes time for new rules to bed in, he is "watching carefully" how people are responding to the new regulations.

Up to now, the minimum age for e-scooter use was 16, but as of today, that has been increased to 18, making the use of an e-scooter by a child illegal.

Fees for the detention and storage of seized e-scooters also doubles from today to an initial €80, increasing by €30 a day thereafter.

These new rules around scooters were introduced after medics in CHI Temple Street called for an outright ban on their use because of the high number of children they were seeing coming into their Emergency Department critically injured from e-scooter related injuries.

In one fortnight period in early July, six children were put on life support in that one Dublin hospital due to injuries they sustained from e-scooters.

At that time, the doctors described the issue as an epidemic, saying that almost half of the hospital's ICU capacity was being used by children who had traumatic brain injuries from e-scooter accidents, and they called on the Government to act.

The Department of Transport initially thought it would have to wait a number of months to introduce the ban on their use for under-18s due to EU rules.

But last month they were told Europe had effectively waived those rules and they could proceed with the ban for under-18s which comes into force today.

It comes four weeks after the new regulations making the use of high visibility clothing and helmets mandatory for e-scooter users.

Compliance with these measures appears to be low and Gardaí say it's too early to release accurate figures for regulations that are so recent.

The Transport Minister Darragh O'Brien say he has seen people not complying with the rules and says it's something he is continuing to monitor but appealed to people to follow the rules for their own safety.

Gardaí say that they are continuing to take a very proactive approach to the enforcement of e-scooter regulations and the seizures of these types of vehicles.

They say in 2024 there were 310 seizures of e-scooters but the following year in 2025 that figured had trebled to 931.

Read more: Do tougher e-scooter laws work? What the evidence says

In the first three months of this year, there were 754 seizures and gardaí say their ongoing efforts have been significantly bolstered by the recent e-scooter regulations, the impact of which they say will become more evident when data for later in 2026 becomes available.

The transport minister says fixed charge notices for e-scooter offences will be increased shortly and that work on registration of e-scooters is being progressed but that it is complicated.

A total ban on the use or e-scooters is also not yet off the table but the focus in the coming weeks is likely to be on if and how these latest measures are enforced.