Cllr wonders if a fine test case will happen?

Council told of issues in October

CONCERNS have been expressed about the time delay in Louth County Council being informed of issues with the parking bye-laws and when they were eventually suspended.

It was stated at the public meeting that the local authority was told in October that the bye-laws were illegal and not fit for purpose.

But after seeking legal advice, the suspension of the pay parking did not kick in until March.

With Louth CC confirming they were bringing in €100,000 a month from parking, it was estimated they could have made up to €500,000 in that timeframe.

Fears were also raised about the fines that have been paid in the past.

Cllr Frank Godfrey, who called the meeting, wondered if someone was going to take a test case over a €40 fine and what would that spark.

‘If all the people claim, this could cost the council millions,’ he warned.

He said people were asking questions about how the errors in the bye-laws were overlooked for so many years.

One speaker asked how come the councillors hadn’t noticed it.

Cllr Godfrey said that the role of the traffic warden was a difficult one and that some people think the Drogheda ones are ‘ the best in the country.’

The local man who raised the issue with the bye-laws, Cormac McNamara, said he had spotted ‘several issues’ with the system after he was fined twice in 24 hours for being 15 minutes over on his ticket.

‘ The laws were never valid from day one. I contacted the council in October and they were not interested.

He felt people were pushed into a corner in relation to how parking measures were being managed in the town. ‘You live by the sword and you die by the sword,’ he added

Again he called on workers to use the free car parks if possible and not the streets, although the full impact of the closure of the Scarlet Street car park had yet to be felt.

One aspect of the figures produced by Cllr Frank Godfrey left people confused, he stated.

He said that Louth CC claims pay parking is used as part of traffic management, rather than as a fundraising scheme. ‘But in 2016, there were about 5,000 fines and then it rose to 10,000 fines in 2017. Why double the amount of fines if the need is to just move people on. It’s a pure revenue scheme.’