The Dublin Chamber of Commerce is warning against the introduction of overly restrictive regulations on e-scooters.

It comes as Dublin City Council calls for e-scooter users to be forced to sit a test, get tax and insurance and wear protective clothing.

The opposing views are contained in submissions both bodies made to the Government’s public consultation on e-scooter use.

Under current road safety legislation, e-scooters are technically illegal; however, as their popularity increases, the Government is now considering whether to update the legislation.

In its submission, the Dublin Chamber said the scooters could have a key role in the effort to reduce emissions and congestion in Irish cities.

Spokesperson Graeme McQueen said some regulation is needed but said the Government should be very careful about being too strict.

“Ultimately this has a really good potential in terms of getting people to switch to sustainable transport,” he said.

“The aim is to encourage people to use them – so we have to make sure that any restrictions are not overly restrictive.”

He said it would set a negative precedent if laws that were drafted for older technologies like cars were used to block new technologies as they come on the market.

“New technologies are coming in all the time,” he said. “It is all about how we embrace them.”

“We want to encourage as many people as possible to use them. That is going to be good for everyone in terms of sustainability and lack of congestion in the city.

“I think we have to come at this from a position of, ‘how can we make this work?’ and not make it overly restrictive because ultimately we’ll end up putting people off.”

The Department of Transport will consider the response to the public consultation in the coming weeks, with Minister Shane Ross to then expected to announce a decision.