Back to the drawing board for Galway rickshaws ban

 The bye-laws outlawing rickshaws in Galway City aren’t sufficient for Gardaí to enforce the ban, it has been revealed.

 Garda Chief Superintendent Tom Curley has confirmed that there is a major problem with the recently introduced rickshaws bye-laws because they do not give his members power of seizure.

Chief Supt Curley revealed to Monday’s Galway City Joint Policing Committee (JPC) that if Galway Gardaí were to confiscate the rickshaws they could be held liable for loss of earnings of the illegal operators of the non-motorised vehicles.

Galway City Council passed legislation that effectively banned rickshaws from operating on the city’s streets; and it vowed not to issue any more licences.

But at the JPC meeting, City Councillor Frank Fahy (FG) said a few rickshaw operators continue to ply their trade at night on the pedestrian streets.

He said they were operating in breach of bye-laws, and were flouting the law, causing a danger to pedestrians.

“They’re an accident waiting to happen,” said Cllr Fahy, a taxi driver. 

 Chief Supt Curley agreed that rickshaws can cause problems but he said the Garda’s “hands are tied” regarding seizure and storage of the vehicles.

“The power of seizure is not there in the bye-laws; it’s a problem that the City Council will have to address,” he said, suggesting another set of bye-laws might be required.

Read more in today’s Connacht Sentinel