Claim that motorists were ticketed while sitting in their cars

From this week’s Galway City Tribune – Parking fines issued by community wardens are now posted to drivers’ homes, rather than put on their windscreens, Galway City Council has confirmed.

The new regime has come under fire after it was claimed that some people were ticketed – while sitting in their cars.

However, the local authority has stressed that wardens are not “hovering, waiting to pounce”.

The new ticketing system – which includes posting a photograph of the illegally-parked vehicle to its owner – was introduced in response to Coronavirus.

Gardaí have been posting Fixed Charge Penalty Notices (FCPN) for parking transgressions for several years in Galway. And now the local authority in the city has followed suit.

“It is a Covid-19 measure to do with social distancing. It doesn’t necessarily apply to all tickets issued, but tickets issued by post will have an accompanying photograph. It’s a measure in place introduced for social distancing reasons,” a City Council spokesperson said.

Galway-based Fianna Fáil senator Ollie Crowe called on management at City Hall to immediately review their parking policy and provide wardens with discretion.

“I have been contacted by four different constituents this week, three of whom were sitting in their car and only in the space for a matter of minutes, the other was parked there for two minutes whilst going to an ATM twenty metres away, all of whom subsequently received parking tickets in the post.”
This is a shortened preview version of this article. To read the rest of the story, see this week’s Galway City Tribune. You can buy a digital edition HERE.