Madam, - While Mary Raftery's idea of removing state-sponsored free parking for state employees is great in theory (Opinion, September 20th), its implementation is almost impossible in the current climate. The extent to which State employees, never mind anybody else, depend on the motor car is not just symptomatic of a public transport system that has utterly failed the needs of the public, but a world view which sees public transport as a low priority.
The sheer cost of providing appropriate transport to and from areas which are now "commuter counties" (even counting only the greater Dublin region) is impossible. To give a good example of this, Beaumont Hospital is impossible to reach directly via public transport for most, if not all, of north Co Dublin. As a result, patients needing outpatient treatment from this entire region are referred to the Mater hospital since it is the only public hospital on a public transport route from the Swords, Balbriggan and Skerries locality.
The cost of providing suitable transport to Beaumont for small towns such as Ballyboghill, Oldtown, etc would immediately become unsustainable as only a small number of employees would travel from such areas. This would be replicated across the country as large swathes of the population live in low-density housing areas (even in the Dublin region itself). The cost of providing a reliable system of transport would probably exceed even the "true cost" of free parking.
However, I do think that "free" parking needs to be realistically costed by the state bodies themselves and accounted for. When living in Dublin 6 I could not help noticing the number of expensive executive vehicles parked outside luxury homes in the area with employee permits for areas of the city less than two miles away. It should be a routine matter that "free" is prioritised for those who need it most and not routinely given to all-comers, even executives.
Ironically, moves to decentralise services will inevitably increase requirements for parking as departments move to areas with extremely poor public transport, often on edge-of-town developments. It is not a requirement that decentralised departments be sustainable.
- Yours, etc,
LAURA FARRELL, Wellesley Terrace, Cork.