Dozy parker runs up €55k in fines!

Motorist failed to pay 919 parking penalties

IRELAND’S worst serial parking offender has run up fines of more than €55,000 after failing to pay 919 separate tickets.

The list of the nation’s worst offenders shows that the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown constituency of Transport Minister Shane Ross has by far the worst offenders in the country – ten repeat offenders have collectively amassed more than €176,000 in unpaid tickets.

In one of those cases, an individual parked more than 100 times in a disabled parking bay and was fined €120 on each occasion, altogether running up a total bill of €14,320.

The person who ran up the €55,000 bill did at least steer clear of the disabled bays.

All 919 of his, or her, fines were levied at the standard rate of €60.

Overall, 81% of fines were collected last year in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, with €1.15million taken in and another €182,520 left unpaid.

The council said they had a policy of pursuing non-payment through the courts and that on two occasions, vehicles were removed and ‘disposed of ’.

It also said two people had been disqualified from driving for repeat offences and multiple convictions had been secured. Details on fines for Ireland’s four largest cities have shown problems across the board, with drivers flouting the law over and over.

In Cork, almost 80% of fines levied last year were paid by drivers, an improvement on the rates from 2015 (76.7%) and 2016 (77.3%).

Altogether, Cork City Council collected €1.316million in fines last year but another €521,000 was left unpaid, according to records.

They also had problems with repeat offenders, with one motorist in 2017 having 46 tickets outstanding during the year and €3,306 left owing. In Limerick, collection rates were better, with 84% of fines paid up last year which yielded just over €505,000 in revenue for the local authority. Repeat offenders were also a problem in Limerick, with the worst case involving a person who, over a three-year period, had 46 fines unpaid with a value of €2,820.

Galway had a collection rate of 78.7% last year with €379,800 in fines paid and another €122,680 unpaid.

It said some of the unpaid money involved people who were wrongly caught out where their fines were ‘waived following investigation’.

Galway City Council also said there was an issue with foreign-registered cars parking illegally and that these were very difficult to pursue.

Of the seven urban local authorities that provided information under a Freedom of Information request, Fingal in north Dublin had the lowest rate of payment recorded.

Over the past three years, an average of 62% of fines have been collected bringing in over €930,000 in revenue but with another nearly €360,000 unpaid. Their worst offender had 37 separate parking tickets outstanding and owed €2,140. Collection rates were also low in South Dublin County Council where last year just 64% of parking fines issued were paid.

South Dublin council said: ‘The remainder comprises upheld appeals (1st and 2nd stage), fines prosecuted in court for non-payment, and fines issued to foreign registered vehicles.’

Dublin City Council does not issue parking fines. It uses clamping, or what the authority describes as ‘immobilisation and payment of a declamp fee’.

Figures released by the local authority showed it had raised €12.42million over the last three years from declamping around 165,000 cars.

‘Found 100 times in disabled bay’