A SMALL MAJORITY of people believe that the law should not be changed to allow electric scooters to be used on Irish roads.

The latest Amárach/Claire Byrne Live poll for TheJournal.ie found that almost half of people (46%) believe that the law should not be changed, compared to just 41% of those who believe it should and 13% who say they don’t know.

Men (50%) were more likely to say the law should be changed than women (33%), while more Dubliners were said the law shouldn’t be changed (47%) than those that said it should (42%).

In contrast, more people from parts of Leinster, when Dublin was excluded, said they were supportive of having the law changed (47%) than those who weren’t (42%).

However, support for legalising electric scooters dropped in other parts of the country: only 39% of people in Munster and 32% of people in Connaught and Ulster were in favour of doing so.

Support for legalising the use of electric scooters on Irish roads was highest among those aged 55 and over (43%), with those aged 18-24 the most likely to be against changing the law (50%).

Those from well-off backgrounds were more reluctant to have the law changed (44%) than supportive of changing the law (42%).

But significantly more people from lower-income backgrounds were against changing the law (49%) than those who supported doing so (40%).

Last month, the Department of Transport launched a public consultation on whether so-called Powered Personal Transporters (PPTs) – including electric scooters – should be legalised.

A report from the Road Safety Authority (RSA) to carry out research into how other EU member states regulated the vehicles argued that legislation should be developed for their use here.

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The RSA believes such laws would encourage the use of protective equipment for users of PPTs, allow for training and safety standards for them, as well as give guidance on where the vehicles can be used.

It also found that the use of such PPTs could help Ireland reach its climate emissions targets.

The Claire Byrne Live / Amarách Research Panel consists of over 1,000 Irish adults, all aged 18+. The poll was conducted earlier this week.