21,341 fines issued for illegal parking in Dublin City as council ramps up alternative to clamping

Dublin City Council has handed out 21,341 parking fines in the two years since it moved from just clamping cars to also handing out fines for parking offences.

The data was released after a question to officials by Cllr Janet Horner (Green Party). She said that she especially welcomed the number of fines issued for footpath parking as blocking footpaths can impact wheelchair users, people with mobility issues, and people pushing buggies with small children.

The top five non-payment offences were: Parking a vehicle on a footway [footpath] (4,449 fines), parking/stopping a vehicle on a clearway (2,861), parking in a “No Parking Area” with no parking sign (1,358), unauthorised parking in a Loading Bay/Private Vehicle (1296) and parking opposite a continuous white line (929).

She said she was disappointed to see the low number of fines for parking on cycle tracks, although the council has previously said that parking in cycle tracks can also be covered by other offences, such as parking in clearways or parking on double or single yellow lines.

The number of fines — called Fixed Charge Penalty Notices — being issued has also increased from 954 fines in the 7 months of 2021 to 10,678 for the full year last year, and then to 9,710 for under 6 months this year.

The trial period ran from June 1, 2021, to February 1, 2022.

Cllr Janet Horner said: “I’m particularly struck by the number of vehicles served with a FCPN for parking on footpaths. It shows both the scale of the problem in Dublin and also a positive trend towards enforcement. Until we fought for and introduced FCPNs in 2021, there was in effect no enforcement against this anti-social, obstructive and sometimes dangerous behaviour. I hope that awareness is spreading in the city now that it is unacceptable and there are consequences for people who do it.”

Cllr Horner said: “I passed a motion at the full Council meeting for the Council to come up with a strategy to eliminate footpath parking. FCPNs are one part of this but they will not solve the problem entirely. There are some neighbourhoods and areas where the behaviour is very entrenched, particularly on streets where houses don’t have driveways and have narrow carriageways.”

“The consequences here are that paths are totally impassable and incredibly hostile for wheelchair users, those with mobility issues and people pushing buggies and with small children. We need proactive engagement in those areas and looking for imaginative solutions, for example, in some areas, there are nearby churches with car parks that could be used by residents,” she said.

Cllr Horner added: “I am disappointed not to see more FCPNs issued for people parking in cycle lanes. While I think there has been a lot of improvement in the behaviour in the city in the past few years, as awareness of cycling has increased, it is still too widespread and is dangerous when it happens so I would like to see more enforcement here.”

Earlier this month the Joint Committee on Justice said that parking in cycle lanes, on footpaths or in bus lanes should be considered as ‘parking a vehicle in a dangerous position’ and receive three penalty points as well as a fine.

Breakdown of fines by type of offence and year