Dundalk councillor calls for e-scooter ban

At Wednesday's public meeting of Dundalk Joint Policing Committee Fianna Fail councillor Conor Keelan called for an outright ban on e-scooters calling them a hazard and stating that many of his elderly constituents and even relatives in his own family have been near missed by them on footpaths.

Councillor Keelan was speaking following a presentation given by Ciara Brady of the RSA outline an increase in road traffic fatalities in the country, three of which were related to e scooters and one of which occurred recently on the Armagh Road in Dundalk.

Councillor Keelan outlined how the process to introduce e-scooter legislation in the Dail has been held up and expressed fears that any such legislation would not go far enough.

He urged the RSA to change their position from seeking new legislation be introduced to advocating for an outright ban.

A number of frustrations were also expressed by members of the public regarding scooters with one woman saying that as a mother she found it increasingly difficult to walk around the footpaths of Dundalk with her son particularly on Clanbrassil Street.

“When you’re walking with a child they’re coming up behind you on bikes and on e-scooters as well.”

There were calls for more cycling lanes to stop certain cyclists and e-scooters mounting footpaths and for a greater crackdown by gardai on those doing so.

Another member of the public submitted that many e-scooter users travelling at night wore no high visibility clothing and had minimum lighting while “jumping up onto footpaths and then back onto the road” saying that “there has to be some sort of a crack down on [making them wear] high vis.”

On foot of a question from Sinn Fein councillor Edel Corrigan about e-scooter education campaigns, Ms Brady of the RSA said they would have to wait to see what legislation is passed by the Dail before a specific e-scooter education campaign is released.