{"id":589206,"date":"2026-07-16T19:41:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T19:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/589206\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T19:41:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T19:41:08","slug":"e-scooter-use-at-a-tipping-point-with-number-of-children-suffering-brain-injuries-up-50-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/589206\/","title":{"rendered":"E-scooter use at a \u2018tipping point\u2019 with number of children suffering brain injuries up 50% \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The use of e-scooters is at a \u201ctipping point\u201d, the D\u00e1il<\/a> heard on Thursday, after the publication of figures showing a significant increase in the number children suffering brain injuries after using the machines.<\/p>\n

The number of children and young people admitted to hospital with traumatic brain injuries following e-scooter<\/a> incidents increased by 50 per cent year on year, according to data from Children\u2019s Health Ireland<\/a> (CHI). <\/p>\n

There were 1,130 attendances to emergency departments at CHI between January 2021 and last August due to e-scooter-related injuries.<\/p>\n

A dozen children were admitted to CHI at Temple Street under the neurosurgery team with traumatic brain injuries sustained in e-scooter crashes between June 2024 and May 2025.<\/p>\n

There was then a 50 per cent increase in admissions in the period from June 2025 to last May, with 18 children admitted. At least seven more have been admitted since then, CHI said.<\/p>\n

The issue was raised repeatedly in the chamber on Thursday, with T\u00e1naiste Simon Harris<\/a> telling Sinn F\u00e9in leader Mary Lou McDonald<\/a> the situation was \u201cat a tipping point where we need to move and move quickly\u201d. Harris is due to meet senior Ministers to discuss options, including a potential ban on e-scooters, next week.<\/p>\n

Social Democrats TD Aidan Farrelly told Harris the current regulations governing the use of e-scooters were a \u201cmonumental failure\u201d and that a scheme should be opened encouraging children and parents to trade them in for bikes.<\/p>\n

Harris said he had an open mind but that the current situation is \u201cextraordinarily dangerous and needs to change\u201d. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0E-scooters are being used for drug dealing and intimidation, Garda chief saysOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Garda<\/a> Commissioner Justin Kelly on Tuesday said he agreed<\/a> with calls for a ban on e-scooters, saying society would be \u201cbetter off\u201d without them.<\/p>\n

Under legislation that came into effect in May 2024, e-scooter users must be 16 or older and obey a speed limit of 20km\/h.<\/p>\n

Before this law was introduced, CHI said only one child had been admitted to hospital with a brain injury due to an e-scooter crash. Almost 40 have been since.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis summer, across CHI emergency departments, it is estimated that one to two children with e-scooter-related injuries present each day,\u201d CHI said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has significantly increased the workload of paediatric emergency medicine teams, both in terms of the volume of patients and the complexity of injuries being treated.\u201d<\/p>\n

CHI said the injuries sustained by children range from major trauma cases to fractures, head and neck injuries, facial injuries, concussions and lacerations. <\/p>\n

Of the 30 children admitted to CHI with traumatic brain injuries related to e-scooter incidents between May 2024 and last month, all had evidence of bleeding within their skull or brain and 97 per cent sustained skull fractures.<\/p>\n

Almost all the children in question (97 per cent) were not wearing helmets at the time of the incident. Just over half (53 per cent) required emergency neurosurgery.<\/p>\n

Dr Irwin Gill, consultant paediatrician in neurodisability at CHI, said: \u201cWhen we talk about the dangers of e-scooter injuries, the measure of harm cannot be limited to whether a child lives or dies. <\/p>\n

\u201cMany of the children we care for spend a long time in hospital accessing surgical care, medical care and rehabilitation, and are left with life-changing brain injuries as a result of their e-scooter crashes that can result in permanent physical, sensory and cognitive disabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gill said children who sustain these injuries \u201cmay require lifelong rehabilitation and ongoing support from their families and the State, and which in some cases can never be fully undone\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said preventing these injuries \u201cmust be a public health priority\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The use of e-scooters is at a \u201ctipping point\u201d, the D\u00e1il heard on Thursday, after the publication of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":589207,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[40],"tags":[956,9,10,45,4767,18,131668,13,14,6,19,17,29801,11,12,15,16,16594,5,11697,44,7,8],"class_list":["post-589206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-an-garda-siochana","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-children-s-health-ireland-chi","tag-dail-eireann","tag-eire","tag-escooters","tag-featured-news","tag-featurednews","tag-headlines","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-justin-kelly","tag-latest-news","tag-latestnews","tag-main-news","tag-mainnews","tag-mary-lou-mcdonald","tag-news","tag-road-safety","tag-simon-harris","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116931361905970880","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=589206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/589207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=589206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=589206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=589206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}