MINISTER OF STATE for Transport Seán Canney has urged parents not to buy e-scooters for their children this Christmas, warning that they are vehicles rather than toys.

Speaking on RTÉ’s The Week in Politics, Canney pointed to serious injuries suffered by children using e-scooters.

“Parents, do not contemplate buying an e-scooter for your child as a Christmas present. It is not a toy. It’s actually a vehicle,” Canney said.

He added that six children had been on life support in a Children’s Health Ireland hospital this summer following e-scooter incidents.

“Please, parents, do not buy an e-scooter for your child.”

His appeal comes after the minimum legal age for using an e-scooter in public rose from 16 to 18 at the start of October. Helmets and high-visibility clothing have been mandatory since 4 September.

Users must obey a 20km/h speed limit and cannot carry passengers or ride on footpaths.

Three e-scooter users died on Irish public roads in 2025, according to provisional Road Safety Authority (RSA) figures.

Children’s Health Ireland reported in July that 18 children had been admitted under Temple Street’s neurosurgery team with traumatic brain injuries from e-scooter crashes between June 2025 and May 2026, up from 12 in the previous 12 months.

On Friday, the RSA and CHI launched a campaign urging parents not to buy e-scooters for under-18s.

Canney also said he was bringing forward legislation to classify e-scooters as mechanically propelled vehicles, which would require them to be registered.

“One of the problems the guard that you have at the moment is that if they seize an e-scooter, who owns it?”

Sinn Féin TD Clare Kerrane said registration “cannot come quickly enough” to allow owners to be identified, but stressed that existing rules also needed to be enforced.

Canney said legislation to protect gardaí during pursuits would be brought forward on an emergency basis.

He also said gardaí would travel to the UK to train as instructors, with the aim of starting pursuit training here in January.