Gardaí are examining new roadside testing equipment that could help them take powerful e-bikes and e-scooters off the roads.

The equipment is already in use by police in the Netherlands and will enable Gardaí to check the maximum power and speed a bike or scooter is capable of.

Under the Road Traffic and Road Acts 2023 Bill which has been signed into law but has yet to be enacted, higher-powered e-bikes will be considered mechanically propelled vehicles (MPVs).

This will mean riders will be required to hold a licence and registration and must wear a helmet.

The laws will also make e-scooters legal – but only if they have a maximum speed of 25kph.

Once the laws come into force, Gardaí will have the power to confiscate any device that is found to be too powerful under the new legislation.

On The Pat Kenny Show this morning, motoring expert Ger Herbert said you “have to wonder how feasible it will be” for Gardaí to test many scooters on the roads.

“Where will these road tests be and how often and how likely will it be that you can run into them?” she asked.

Ms Herbert said the tests are already in use in the Netherlands and Gardaí are reviewing the technology.

“The Dutch don’t have a very favourable attitude particularly towards e-scooters and they have huge concerns about them sharing the same spaces as cyclists,” she said.

“Obviously they have the same concerns as we have in the sense that there are different power levels and putting them in bike lanes with people who aren’t that used to cycling or whatever, you know, there is a danger there and a very big risk.

She said it is good that “something is being done” but it remains unclear what is stopping the new regulations from coming into force.