The standard €19 parking fine will more than double to €40 from next Monday, under a new national directive from the Department of Transport. The new fines structure is due to be announced tomorrow, but local authorities have already been given details, writes Olivia Kelly.
As well as the increase in the standard fine, the fine for parking illegally in a disabled spot is going up from €19 to €80. The fine for parking in a clearway will increase from €25 to €40, as will the fine for parking in a bus lane. But the fine for failure to display a valid tax disc will stay at €60.
However, instead of a once-off "on the spot" penalty, fines not paid within 28 days will increase by 50 per cent, bringing the standard parking ticket to €60 and the disabled space fine to €120. Failure to pay after a further 28 days will result in an automatic court summons.
Local authorities are losing their power to decide when to issue a summons. Previously, city and county councils had discretion over how much time they gave individuals to clear unpaid fines. Under the new regulations, a District Court summons will automatically be issued if a fine is not paid within 56 days.
Local authorities were informed of the changes by the Department of Transport in the last few weeks. The department said that while the fines were only recently finalised, local authorities were informed last April that the Minister intended to make changes.
The current €19 parking fines are issued by gardaí and traffic wardens to cars parked illegally, or which have not paid the appropriate parking fee. A typical offence would be failing to display a valid ticket from a pay-and-display machine.
In parts of some cities, including Dublin, cars may be clamped instead of being given parking "tickets". In Dublin, the charge to release a clamp is ¤80. In Galway, however, where clamping has also been in force, the city council has voted to limit clamping from next Monday.
The new system will still allow for the clamping of vehicles illegally parked on main thoroughfares, at bus stops, taxi ranks, in a disabled driver's space, on a footpath, on a median strip, at a junction, and in a casual trading or pedestrianised area, but only with the co-operation of traffic wardens. Clamping in public car parks and at pay-and-display areas in Galway will be eliminated.