E-scooters are “without a doubt” being used for drug dealing in the country’s urban centres, Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly has told the Oireachtas transport committee. Kelly reiterated that he “absolutely” supports an outright ban on e-scooters, which are also “regularly” being used for drug-related intimidation, he said.Speaking before the transport committee on Wednesday, the Garda Commissioner said e-scooters are being used in some areas “to terrorise local communities” with those travelling on them wearing masks or balaclavas. The use of e-scooters is “relatively new”, Kelly told politicians, but there are “a lot of things that are really concerning” around their use.E-scooters are being used to facilitate localised drug dealing in urban centres, he said. “I think if anyone is observant, particularly here in Dublin in the city centre, you can see it,” said Kelly. “We obviously try and prevent that but they are really difficult for us to deal with, particularly around parks, laneways. It’s very easy for them to evade An Garda Síochána. “Drug-related intimidation, which is an absolute scourge on some of our communities, and really horrendous behaviour [is taking place] towards parents, relations of people who are in debt. “We’ve seen e-scooters regularly being used for that. We have a number of cases where people have used them to call to people’s houses and make their escape quickly.”The Garda Commissioner said users of e-scooters are governed by the same laws as cyclists but there is a “complete flouting of the road traffic legislation”. He said one problem in particular is e-scooter users passing straight through junctions. Kelly also said there is no legislation in place that requires those travelling on e-scooters to wear helmets.“We see in some areas people wearing masks and balaclavas going around our communities,” he said. “In some communities they are using these as an ability really to terrorise local communities. “To see two or three e-scooters and people wearing balaclavas on them, you can imagine the effect that has on some areas.”Kelly added concerns have been raised by hospital consultants who report e-scooters to be the leading cause of head injuries in children.He acknowledged there are challenges with an outright ban and that there are also “law-abiding citizens” who use e-scooters.However, he said when he looked at the entire situation, the shift in the balance in favour of a ban “has tipped so far in that direction”. Separately, the committee heard about 10 gardaí are currently being prosecuted for road traffic offences that occurred while they were on duty. Kelly said gardaí need to have more protections from a legislative point of view in relation to pursuit or prosecutions around road traffic. “So they [10 gardaí] went to work and for whatever reason something has happened during their tour of duty, there’s been an investigation – these investigations are usually by Fiosrú, the Police Ombudsman – and these have resulted in prosecutions of guards while on duty,” he said.“Frequently we see many of these go through the court processes and in some of the cases the guards are acquitted after this. From my point of view, as the Garda Commissioner, I think it’s really important that guards who go out to do their work have the protections they need in place.”