Dublin City councillors are calling for urgent action to regulate rickshaws following the death of a mother of two who was involved in a crash in the city last week.
Danielle O’Keane, from Newry, had travelled to Dublin on September 26 to attend a Westlife concert at the 3Arena. She later travelled in a rickshaw and was involved in a collision on North Wall Quay.
Ms O’Keane was taken to the Mater Hospital following the crash but died on October 1.
Dublin City Council has since passed a motion calling for greater regulation of rickshaws, amid concerns about passenger safety, insurance, licensing and enforcement.
Fine Gael councillor for the South-East Inner City, Danny Byrne, said his thoughts were with Ms O’Keane’s family and stressed that he did not want to prejudge the Garda investigation into the circumstances of the collision.
He said passengers using rickshaws had a reasonable expectation that they were travelling in a safe form of transport.
“Anyone getting on a rickshaw around Dublin would have a legitimate expectation that that would be a safe mode of transport,” he said.
“I do not believe it's a safe mode of transport.”
Cllr Byrne said legislation intended to regulate rickshaws had been in place for almost a decade but had not yet been commenced.
“There's legislation sitting there for almost 10 years that was supposed to regulate rickshaws, and it hasn't been commenced,” he said.
“So, I'm calling on the Government to immediately commence that legislation.”
He said motorised rickshaws should be subject to licensing and insurance requirements similar to those applying to cars and motorbikes.
Asked whether additional regulatory costs could force some rickshaw operators out of business, Cllr Byrne said the priority should be protecting the public.
“To be honest, their costs are not my concern,” he said.
“My [concerns] are the safety of the citizens of Dublin.”
Cllr Byrne said that while rickshaws might appear to offer an attractive transport option, he believed they posed significant safety risks.
“Personally, I would look for a ban on them completely,” he said.
He also expressed similar concerns about e-scooters, saying he did not consider them safe.
“I'm not a fan - similarly with e-scooters,” he said.
“I just don't think they're safe, they're also probably being used for other reasons rather than carrying passengers as well.”
The calls for action come as Ireland records a rise in road deaths compared with the same period last year.
A total of 144 people have died on Irish roads so far this year, 16 more than during the corresponding period in 2025.
The Garda investigation into the North Wall Quay collision remains ongoing.
