€482,366 in parking fines collected in Wicklow in 2023

A total of €482,366 in parking fines were collected by Wicklow County Council last year, with a whopping 3,059 penalty notices issued in Bray alone.

Bray Municipal District (BMD) issued a total of 3,059 fixed charge offence fines last year, with parking in a loading bay without displaying a commercial tax disc topping the list of offences drivers were penalised for.

The figures were released to Social Democrats Local Election candidate Aaron McAllorum, who said they demonstrated the town has an active and visible traffic warden presence.

“The figures provide an interesting insight into the range of parking violations committed around the municipal,” he said. “Generally speaking, there appears to be a good level of compliance with parking rules, it certainly helps that the town has an active and visible warden presence.

“Unfortunately, one of the higher offence items is parking on footpaths or in a way that causes obstruction. I really can’t countenance that practice, its an intrusion into a very clearly defined and reserved realm,” he concluded.

The complete revenue raised on parking fines within Bray Municipal District is not available, as the figure is collected as a whole for the county. The revenue collected on fines for the whole of County Wicklow is €482,366 for 2023.

In the breakdown for Bray provided to Mr McAllorum, it shows six headings in which fines can be issued, ranging from parking on double yellow lines to parking in bus bays and taxi ranks, which included:

Parking in a loading bay without displaying commercial tax disc, for longer than the time allowed or without loading or unloading being observed: 1093

Parking on double yellow lines: 608

Parking in a prohibited place, e.g. a bus bay or taxi rank: 471

Parking in a manner likely to cause an obstruction i.e. parking on a footpath or on a corner: 456

Other form of illegal parking: 309

Parking in a disabled bay without displaying a valid permit: 122