The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Senator Joe Doyle, yesterday became the first citizen in the capital to have his car clamped - though only as a photo opportunity to inaugurate the corporation's new parking regime.
Mr Doyle made it clear he strongly approved of the introduction of wheel-clamping as a "necessary measure" to deal with the problem of illegal parking, as part of the corporation's "integrated approach to tackle the city's traffic problems".
A recent corporation survey found that up to 40 per cent of cars on city centre streets are illegally parked - either because of non-payment or overstaying in metred spaces, or parking on yellow lines, on footpaths and even in disabled parking bays.
These are to become priorities for wheel-clamping from next week, with £65 as the penalty for having a car "declamped". In the meantime, yellow notices will be placed on the windscreens of offending vehicles warning drivers of the risk they are taking.
The wheel-clamping regime is being operated by an Irish subsidiary of the US multinational Central Parking Systems, which is worth $1.5 billion and has 9,500 employees worldwide, according to its English-born managing director, Mr Jason Ballard.
It will start with a fleet of four white wheel-clamping vans, backed up by "scouts" on mopeds and bicycles whose jobs will be to detect illegally parked cars. A "parking shop" is being opened at Bachelors Walk, where penalties may be paid with cash, cheque or credit card. Mr Paul Maloney, a senior official in the director of traffic's department, stressed that Central Parking Systems would be receiving a flat payment of "over £2 million" per annum for the three-year contract, rather than being paid on a "fee per clamp" basis.
Mr Conor Faughnan, of the Automobile Association, said 66 per cent of its members had indicated in a survey last year that they would support wheel-clamping and he felt the system being introduced in Dublin was "very professional and very transparent".
Personnel operating the new regime, all wearing distinctive blue uniforms, will have handheld computers and digital cameras to assist them in their work.
The corporation's traffic control centre in the Civic Offices at Wood Quay will also have a major role to play, assisted by its network of 40 high-level cameras which can now zoom in to focus on the registration numbers of illegally parked vehicles.
Within the next few months, the director of traffic's office will also be introducing a vehicle removal service which will tow vehicles from places where they are causing an obstruction and relocate them elsewhere for clamping.
