Parking charges a ‘slap in the face’ to essential staff
ANGER AS TOWN CENTRE KEY WORKERS ISSUED WITH PARKING FINES
KEY workers in town centre pharmacies and supermarkets are being issued with parking fines as Council concessions which operated during the first coronavirus lockdown no longer apply.
Despite a previous relaxation in pay parking, in line with Government advice, Wexford’s local authority which lost €1.3 million in parking income in 2020, has instructed traffic wardens to continue enforcing pay and display rules during the current lockdown.
Cllr. George Lawlor called it ‘a slap in the face’ to essential workers who are putting themselves at risk every day, only to face fines for parking on near empty streets in a town that is largely closed. He called on the Government to relax parking enforcement and reimburse local authories for their losses.
A DECISION by Wexford Borough Council to enforce parking charges during the current lockdown, has been described as ‘a slap in the face’ for essential workers employed in pharmacies and supermarkets around the town.
During the first coronavirus lockdown, the Government issued a direction advising local authorities to take a relaxed approach to parking charges and fines to facilitate those continuing to work in mostly empty towns.
But during current Level 5 restrictions, with Wexford town largely shut down and many car parks virtually empty, traffic wardens are continuing to patrol the streets and impose fines on motorists who fail to display a ticket.
Cllr. George Lawlor has been contacted by a number of disgruntled key workers who assumed that the soft approach was still in operation but have received €40 fines for parking without a valid disc.
Cllr. Lawlor raised the issue at a Council meeting and also spoke about it on Joe Duffy’s Liveline programme on RTE radio.
‘I have been contacted by people working in town during Level 5. They are regarded as essential workers but they are receiving parking fines.
‘We had been taking a lenient approach to parking enforcement apart from cases of illegal parking on disabled spaces or parking that was causing an obstruction.’
‘Now we have people going into work at the retail frontline, in pharmacies, supermarkets and essential services and if they don’t pay and display they are getting parking fines.’
‘These people are working during lockdown, the town is empty, yet they are being penalised with parking charges and fines.’ The official Council response to Cllr. Lawlor is that while there was a relaxation of parking enforcement for essential workers in the first lockdown, based on a national direction from government, and also in the few weeks leading up to Christmas, traffic wardens were instructed in early January that enforcement of valid pay and display parking tickets was to continue.
The only concession is that the first 15 minute grace period has been increased to 30 minutes, meaning that motorists don’t have to pay for the first half hour of parking in Council car parks and on the street.
Wexford County Council lost €1.3 million in parking revenue in 2020 compared to 2019, due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the biggest proportion of loss in Wexford town. According to Cllr. Lawlor, the Government is refusing to reimburse Wexford and other local authorities for lost finance.
‘We need a direction again from Government that parking charges should not be enforced and a commitment to reimburse Councils for their losses’, he said.
‘I appreciate we are losing money on parking but that is mainly due to the large-scale closure of the retail and hospitality sectors.
‘It’s a bit of a slap in the face for essential workers who are continuing to stand behind counters, putting themselves at risk every day, providing essential services for everyone else, to come out and find a €40 fine on their car.’