Wexford to get full-time traffic warden

August 1981

The vagaries of motorists in Wexford town are to be curtailed. The town will soon have its first ever full-time traffic warden, responsible for issuing parking tickets to drivers who break the code.

The traffic warden, complete with brown uniform and official striped hat, is expected to be seen on Wexford’s traffic-stricken streets before Christmas. The new position has been advertised by the Corporation this week, and interviews will take place following the closing date of September 19th.

The man or woman to be appointed must be between the ages of 25 and 45 years, and will be paid at a rate between £70 and £80.50 per week. He or she will be asked to first undergo a training period of four to five weeks in Waterford, where a traffic warden is already on duty.

The Town Clerk, Mr. Eddie Breen, says that while the warden will have the authority to issue fines and to prosecute, he hopes that the mere presence of the warden on the streets will deter people from parking on double yellow lines and in other ‘no parking’ zones.

Mr Breen admitted that traffic is a definite problem in the town, particularly because of the number of cars coming off the boats at Rosslare and passing through the town. Parking was also a problem, but he now hoped that the new warden would serve as a warning to motorists who might otherwise consider breaking the parking regulations.

Asked if the appointment of a traffic warden might be the first step towards eventually introducing a ‘pay for parking’ system to Wexford, as applies in Dublin and some other places, Mr Breen replied that there are certainly no plans for that at the moment, and any such system would most likely be ‘a long way off ’ if it were ever to happen at all.