Cllr wants to get tough on illegal parking

The possibility of stricter penalties for people who breach parking rules is being kept under constant review, a Government Minister has told Meath county councillors.

Fine Gael Cllr Alan Tobin had called for increased penalties, including those for illegal parking in bays for disabled drivers, footpaths, cycle tracks, taxi ranks and loading bays, at the May meeting of the council.

He had also called for the imposition of increased penalty points but several councillors objected to this and it was excluded from his notice of motion which was then passed by the council.

Minister of State at the Department of Transport Hildegard Naughton, in a reply to the council, that penalties for fixed charge notice offences were kept under constant review Dhe said that in 2018, a previous Minister for Transport Shane Ross had increased the fixed charge for parking in a disabled bay from €80 to €150 in response to evidence from the Garda and from disability representative groups following a sharp rise in non-compliance.

While the department was open to the possibility of introducing similar increases for other parking offences, there would first have to be consultation with the Garda and local councils so as to ensure fairness an proportionality, she said.

“Councillors can be assured that any changes will be considered in light of the commitments to pedestrian and cyclist safety as set out in the current Programme for Government.”