The current law regarding the maximum speed allowable for e-scooters would appear at first glance to be clear.
Two years ago, then minister for transport Eamon Ryan signed off on the statutory instrument 199 based on the Road Traffic Act 2024 which is the current law governing the use of e-scooters.
Part 4: Section 12 states that an electric scooter “shall not exceed the maximum design speed of 20 kilometres per hour.”
It has emerged in recent weeks that this clause only pertains to the driving of e-scooters on public roads not to their sale or distribution.
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Last week, the Government announced new e-scooter legislation to deal with the escalating problems of deaths and serious injuries caused by this means of transport especially for children who are not supposed to use them under the age of 16.
The proposed legislation stops short of an outright ban, but will treat e-scooters like any other “mechanically propelled vehicles”, and therefore an owner will need a licence and registration for them.
The Government’s proposed changes on e-scooters is also an admission that the current legislation does not actually stop the sale of e-scooters capable of speeds higher than 20km/h.
The statement issued by Minister of State at the Department of Transport Seán Canney, following his meeting with the Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly and the Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan, said the new legislation will prohibit the “sale of scooters that do not meet the legal requirements for use on public roads”.
The issue gained prominence when a number of online retailers withdrew sales of e-scooters with a top speed above 20km/h, under pressure from Government.
Amazon and AliExpress have removed e-scooters not in compliance with Irish speed limits from their websites. Decathlon Ireland began removing e-scooters from sale in-store and on its Irish website on Tuesday. The removal of the product will include all e-scooters sold directly by Decathlon and those offered by third-party sellers.
But the chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on Transport Michael Murphy said at the time it wasn’t enough.
“Others need to front up now and put people’s safety and the wellbeing of children first and pull the sale of these products. Anything less is unacceptable.”
The lacuna in the legislation has allowed e-scooter retailers both online and in-person to legally sell e-scooters well above the 20km/h limit.
The issue is complicated by the fact that many e-scooter retailers based in Ireland also export abroad where the speed limits can be different.
Pogo Cycles is advertising the K-Cloud K14 electric school, at a price of €2,275.
It has a top speed of 100km/h and “delivers both thrill and practicality”, the company’s website claims.
Crazy Monkey, based on Church Road, Douglas, Co Cork, is selling the KuKirin (Kugoo) G3 Pro Electric Scooter which has a maximum speed of 65km/h.
Green Wheel Scooters based in Prussia Street in Dublin is advertising the same e-scooter as having a top speed of 20km/h, but an unlocked speed of 65km/h.
The retailer previously advertised its e-scooters as having a maximum speed of 25km/h but amended the speed as the proposed legislation was announced.
Inner City Scooters based in the Ballymount Road in Dublin calls the KuKirin G4Max, which is advertised with a maximum speed of 86km/h, an “exhilarating ride”.
LOCO Scooters, based in Blanchardstown, Portobello and Cork city, was last week selling the same e-scooter in its shop in Portobello.
Its co-founder Paddy O’Brien says the company’s business has always acted within the law and makes it clear to customers based in Ireland the current legislation relating to speeds above 20km/h.
The company said it is pre-emptively removing e-scooters from its Irish retail shops which advertised speeds above 20km/h.
“If the Government is moving towards restricting the sale of non-road-legal scooters, retailers shouldn’t wait for legislation before changing how they sell them,” he said.
“We’ve made that decision and we’re challenging the rest of the industry to do the same.”
O’Brien says it has complied with the outgoing legislation from 2024 by modifying e-scooters specifically to meet Irish road-legal regulations.
O’Brien added that LOCO believes retailer responsibility should be a formal part of the Government’s approach. “Retailers have a responsibility here too. We don’t think this should rely on voluntary decisions by individual businesses. We’d welcome a clear national standard so every retailer is working to the same rules.”
While non-road-legal scooters can still be sold for lawful use on private land, the company believes they should no longer be the products customers encounter first when they enter a store. Such models will remain available by request but will no longer be promoted through general in-store displays.
Green Wheel Scooters and Inner City Scooters include a disclaimer for private land use only for the KuKirin (Kugoo) G3 Pro Electric Scooter and KuKirin G4Max respectively, while LOCO includes a “Regulation Ready” sticker on the e-scooters advertised on its website.
O’Brien says retailers should welcome the Government’s proposed changes and its decision not to ban e-scooters.
The bad reputation that e-scooters have got has obscured the fact that they are a quick, cheap and ecologically sound means of transport which do not add to traffic congestion, he points out.
“We don’t want to be associated with antisocial behaviour.”
An Garda Síochána said it is active in seizing e-scooters which should not be on Irish roads.
It has employed four mobile dynamometers, or speed guns for e-scooters and e-bikes, to assist in the seizure of illegal e-scooters.
Earlier this week officers confiscated an e-scooter from a 14-year-old in Cork, it was found to be able to reach 87km/h under test conditions.
During an exercise last year they confiscated an e-scooter doing 50km/h in Dame Street in Dublin’s city centre.
Gardaí have not provided separate data as to how many e-scooters they have confiscated that were breaking the speed limit, but they have provided overall data as to how many e-scooters they have seized.
In the first half of 2026, they confiscated 1,412 e-scooters compared to 931 in the whole of 2025 and 310 in 2024.
In addition, 599 e-scooter fines have been issued in the first half of this year compared to 1,223 in the whole of 2025.
