E-scooters are the leading cause of traumatic brain injury (TBI) among children admitted under the Neurosurgery and Rehabilitation Services in CHI at Temple Street, and the rate of admission continues to rise.

Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) can confirm that admissions of children and young people for traumatic brain injuries (TBI) resulting from e-scooter accidents have increased by 50% in the last twelve months.

From January 2021 to August 2025 there have been 1130 attendances to emergency departments at CHI due to e-scooter related injuries. Between June 2024 and May 2025, 12 children were admitted to CHI at Temple Street under the Neurosurgery team with traumatic brain injuries sustained in e-scooter crashes. There was then a 50% increase on admissions since June 2025, with 18 children admitted between June 2025 and May 2026. At least 7 more have been admitted since then.

Prior to May 2024, when legislation was passed making e-scooters legal on Irish roads, only one child had been admitted with a brain injury due to an e-scooter crash. Almost 40 have been admitted since.

This summer, across CHI emergency departments, it is estimated that 1 to 2 children with e-scooter-related injuries present each day. This has significantly increased the workload of Paediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) teams, both in terms of the volume of patients and the complexity of injuries being treated.

Injuries range from major trauma cases requiring activation of the hospital's Major Trauma Team, to fractures, minor and moderate head and neck injuries, facial injuries, concussions, and lacerations. Many of these patients require significant emergency medical resources and may experience serious long-term health consequences.

Dr Irwin Gill, Consultant Paediatrician s.i. Neurodisability at Children's Health Ireland, said: "When we talk about the dangers of e-scooter injuries, the measure of harm cannot be limited to whether a child lives or dies. Many 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. These are life-changing injuries that may require lifelong rehabilitation and ongoing support from their families and the State, and which in some cases can never be fully undone. Preventing these injuries must be a public health priority."

Many children involved in these incidents were travelling at high speeds, and some were carrying passengers ("doubling"), increasing the risk of severe injury.

Among the 30 children admitted with e-scooter-related traumatic brain injuries between May 2024 and June 2026:

• 97% sustained skull fractures.
• 100% had evidence of intracranial bleeding.
• 97% were not wearing helmets.
• 53% sustained brain contusions (bruising).
• 53% required emergency neurosurgery.
• 43% were admitted to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).
• 83% were injured in single-vehicle incidents, including falls from e-scooters, collisions with stationary objects such as kerbs or parked cars, or loss of control of the vehicle.

Children's Health Ireland recognises and appreciates the ongoing efforts of Government, policymakers, clinicians, An Garda Síochána, schools, parents and all stakeholders to address the growing issue of e-scooter use by children. While these efforts continue, CHI's priority remains providing timely, specialist acute care to every child who presents with an e-scooter-related injury, and we support any measures that prevent these devastating injuries from occurring in the first place.