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The Government is ‘considering’ forcing cyclists to put registration plates on bicycles and wear high-visibility vests and helmets as part of a major road safety clampdown.
The measures are being considered alongside a suite of new restrictions on e-scooters, which will be hit with a ban for under-18s next month along with a requirement for riders to wear a hi-vis vest and helmet.
Plans will be brought to Cabinet next week on e-scooters, which will see legislation tabled that will treat e-scooters as mechanically propelled vehicles by the end of 2026.
The new legislation will also see the sale of e-scooters to minors and the sale of scooters that do not meet the legal requirements for use on public roads being banned.
Road Safety Minister Seán Canney told Today FM yesterday that e-scooters would be treated like ‘mopeds’, but multiple Government spokespeople could not clarify last night how this licensing would work or what would be required in order to obtain a licence.
Junior transport minister Mr Canney told The Last Word that an extension of the same measures around registration plates, helmets and hi-vis vests to cyclists is also being considered.
‘Absolutely [it could be applied to cyclists], and we’ve discussed that this morning. But I think the enormity of the problem we have at the moment with the e-scooters is something we need to address quickly, and that’s why we’re bringing in these regulations and this emergency legislation now,’ he said.
Mr Canney said mandating personal protective equipment for cyclists is ‘something that we are looking at and considering’.
He said that he didn’t want to be making ‘bold statements that we’re going to put helmets on every cyclist’ but added that it would be examined alongside the impact the move has on e-scooters.
‘We will look and see how we will progress with scooters, what effect it will have. If it’s a benefit, then of course we will look at helmets and hi-vis on cyclists as well,’ he said.
His comments were met with a frosty reaction from the cycling community.
Ciarán Cannon, president of Cycling Ireland and former Fine Gael minister of State, said that ‘helmets are sensible’, but added that while many people choose to wear them, ‘presenting mandatory helmets and hi-vis as a serious road safety intervention is misleading’.
Mr Cannon said it would place new legal obligations on those already at greatest risk, remarking: ‘It is performative policy-making that diverts attention from real risks and risks making our streets less safe, not more.
‘The greatest danger to people cycling or using scooters does not come from their clothing or headwear. It comes from motor traffic speed, volume and road design. Helmets do not prevent collisions. High-visibility clothing does not slow vehicles, fix junctions or address dangerous overtaking.’
Mr Cannon said that criminalising failing to wear a helmet or hi-vis would lead to this being scrutinised if a cyclist is injured or killed and that this is already happening in civil cases.
‘In fatal collision inquests, coroners and juries have been invited to note whether a person killed was wearing protective or visible clothing, sometimes even recommending their use despite no evidence they would have prevented the collision,’ he said.
‘Criminalising non-use would lock this dynamic into law. The aftermath of a collision would centre not on the causes of danger – speed, road design or driver behaviour – but on the clothing worn by the person injured or killed. That is not prevention.’
He added: ‘It is a policy choice that redistributes blame rather than reducing risk. It is also deeply irresponsible.’
Mr Cannon said that mandatory helmet and hi-vis policies also ‘reduce uptake of safer, cleaner transport’.
‘Fewer people cycling or scooting does not make roads safer. It makes them more car-dominated, and more dangerous overall,’ he added.
Yesterday’s meeting on the issue in Government Buildings was attended by Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Simon Harris, Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan, Mr Canney and Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly.
The decision to impose further restrictions comes after a spike in serious incidents involving children and e-scooters.
Earlier this month, Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) said that there has been a 50% increase in the number of children and young people being admitted to hospital with traumatic brain injuries as a result of e-scooter incidents.
A statement issued by Government yesterday said that 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.
CHI estimates one to two children a day are presenting across emergency departments this summer with e-scooter injuries.
The Taoiseach told the Dáil last week that he was leaning towards an outright ban on e-scooters.
However, the leaders opted to go with the most lenient option despite stating in a press release that it remains ‘on the table’.
The options paper presented at the meeting listed three reasons not to go for a full, outright ban, including that there are ‘legitimate uses for e-scooters which would be lost’, including people commuting for work.
It outlined that ‘children is where the greatest risk is’, and so ‘that’s what action should address’.
The paper also noted that an outright ban was introduced in the Netherlands, but added that the Dutch have a culture that already extensively uses bikes which we do not have here.
In the UK, e-scooters have been banned for private use but rental apps are still permitted to operate.
It was agreed that here in Ireland there is ‘no logic’ in banning something that is dangerous but at the same time making exemptions for private firms.
There was no discussion on introducing penalties for parents who permit their children to illegally use e-scooters.
At the meeting, Mr Kelly said there has been a significant increase in Garda operations connected to e-scooters and that 1,412 of the vehicles have been seized so far this year.
There have also been 793 prosecutions for possession of e-scooters this year.
Speaking after the meeting, the Taoiseach said laws will also be introduced to ‘protect gardaí who are in pursuit’ of those breaking the laws on e-scooters.
