Gardaí are advocating for new laws requiring licenses for e-scooter and e-bike operators after a young recruit was injured during an encounter with a teenage suspected drug dealer. The incident occurred in the Cappagh area of Finglas, northwest Dublin, the same vicinity where a 16-year-old was fatally struck by a scrambler bike in January.
During proactive patrols, officers stopped a teenager on an e-scooter. The situation escalated, resulting in the garda being struck by the vehicle and facing potential knee surgery. The 15-year-old suspect was apprehended, and officers found a quantity of cannabis. He was arrested and subsequently released with a file sent to the Youth Diversion Programme.
The Garda Representative Association (GRA) has called for a licensing infrastructure to regulate these vehicles, which have become a preferred mode of transport for criminals due to the difficulty and danger involved in pursuing them. Detective Mark Ferris, GRA rep for west Dublin, stated that new measures are needed, including "a system of State-issued licences and stricter regulation for these vehicles."
Since records began in 2020, ten people have died in incidents involving e-scooters, including four children. Hundreds more have been injured. The most recent fatality was 17-year-old Janis Ozols, who died after falling from an e-scooter in Carlow earlier this week.
This incident marks the second time in two months a garda has been hospitalized in the west Dublin region due to an incident involving a youth and a high-powered vehicle. In early May, an officer was injured by a scrambler bike in Hartstown.
Legislation known as "Grace's Law" was introduced in April following the death of Grace Lynch, banning the use of scramblers, quad bikes, and similar off-road vehicles in public places. However, gardaí believe mandatory licensing for e-scooters could further reduce fatalities.
Det Gda Ferris noted that while the Garda Commissioner has prioritized pursuit driving training, officers often rely on intelligence to seize vehicles rather than engaging in pursuits due to safety concerns. He emphasized the need for "dedicated pursuit training tailored to e-scooters and scramblers; an agreed tactical framework setting out safe intervention practices and clear disengagement points; appropriate equipment... and, in the longer term, a system of State-issued licences and stricter regulation for these vehicles."
He also expressed concern about an increase in attacks on officers, stating, "The men and women of An Garda Síochána are entitled to carry out their duties without facing deliberate and targeted attacks. No one signed up for that level of risk. Too many offenders now feel emboldened to attack gardaí in uniform and that has to stop."
Chief Superintendent Des McTiernan previously observed that children are being drawn into crime, with scramblers, e-bikes, and e-scooters serving as their vehicles of choice for rapid drug dealing and evasion of gardaí. Operation Meacán, an initiative targeting the criminal use of these vehicles, began at the start of the year.
Research from Children's Health Ireland at Temple Street indicated a rise in e-scooter-related injuries among children, with 37 such injuries reported in the first eight months of 2025, compared to 12 for all of 2024. The average age of injured patients was 12, with the youngest being three years old.