An answer to a parliamentary question this week confirms that the Minister for Transport, Darragh OBrien, and the Minister of State, Sen Canney, are still developing proposals that include considering whether helmets and high-vis are made mandatory for e-bikes, otherwise known as pedal-assisted electric bicycles.The Department of Transport considers the term e-bikes a shorthand for pedal-assisted bicycles on which the electric motor stops providing power when the cyclist stops pedalling or reaches 25km/h. It must also have a maximum continuous rated power of no more than 250 watts and follow some other rules, including that it must not include a throttle.Since the idea of helmets and high-vis has been debated at Cabinet-level, the Department of Transport has repeatedly mentioned that pedal-assisted bicycles were only legalised in recent years, but this was out of step with EU regulations, which the Irish Government seems not to have been in compliance with for decades. The legal fix to the Road Traffic Acts was introduced alongside making low-powered e-scooters legal in 2024, two years after the Government legislated in 2022for electric bicycles to be bought under the Cycle to Work scheme. The Cycle to Work scheme requires bicycles to be used for commuting. The Department of Transport has claimed to this website that EU regulations only require that member states must exempt electric bicycles from motor vehicle type approval basically meaning that e-bicycles which follow the EU-level rules cannot be classified as or regulated as mopeds or light motorcycles. But the Department claims that e-bicycles can be treated differently from bicycles when it comes to what users are required to wear.This distinction is important, as the backlash against the idea of helmets and high-vis for non-electric bicycles was so strong that the Ministers quickly outlined that they were U-turning on even considering the idea further. Since then, it has repeatedly said that non-electric bicycles are out-of-scope of the planned changes.Besides motor specs, electric-assisted pedal cycles typically follow all the same rules as bicycles. The Department of Transport has given no justification for lumping electric bicycles in with higher-powered bikes that already require users to wear helmets.Ministers have pointed to research showing that teenagers on e-scooters and electric two-wheelers are injured at an alarming rate. But these teenagers are widely not believed to be legal pedal-assisted electric bicycles. A large part of the problem seems to stem from people, including medics, making no distinction between e-bikes and more powerful bikes that are already classed as mopeds or light motorcycles. Parliamentary questionAsking a parliamentary question this week, Emer Currie TD (Fine Gael) said: To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if high-vis PPE will become mandatory for legal pedal-assist e-bikes; and if he will make a statement on the matter.The reply came in the name of Minister for State Canney, who said: As Minister of State for International & Road Transport, Logistics, Rail & Ports, I wish to advise that the Government decision of Wednesday 4 February noted that the Ministers for Transport would return to Government with proposals for updated regulations on e-scooters and e-bikes.Regulations in relation to certain e-scooters and e-bikes were introduced in May 2024. As we approach the two-year anniversary of that date, it is appropriate that we look at the evidence and consider if additional regulation is warranted to promote road safety, he said.He added: Proposals are being developed and will be subject to Ministerial decision. Requirements for personal protective equipment (PPE) on e-scooters and e-bikes will form part of any consideration. The introduction of mandatory PPE for users of bicycles is outside the scope of the current measures.