Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 4:

In page 16, line 15, to delete “and” where it secondly occurs.

Amendment No. 5 arises out of points raised with me on Second Stage in the Dáil. Deputy Murphy, in the Dáil, raised the difficulty of getting through to a company for an answer. Deputy Daly made the point that she believes that the only time she can get to speak to someone in a clamping company is when it is looking for credit card details. The general theme that many Deputies did raise is the issue of trying to get answers or a response from clamping companies when someone has a query or a complaint. I am seeking to respond to this issue in amendments Nos. 4 and 5.

Section 17 deals with the complaints procedure that the NTA may set up for members of the public. Amendment No. 5 adds a further category to the list of issues in subsection (1) about which complaints may be made, namely, complaints on the time it takes parking controllers and clamping operators to respond to complaints or other communications from the public. This is an important addition to the Bill and I thank Deputies for raising the point. It is unacceptable that a person would telephone a clamping company and not get a response. In this amendment, I am giving the NTA the power to regulate this area.

Amendment No. 4 is a consequence of amendment No. 5 and facilitates the addition of a new provision. I am adding this to the list of categories in subsection (1) and this therefore adds to the list of areas the NTA can regulate.

It specifically looks at the issue of response times for people who are in contact with the authority. We had a discussion earlier on why this Bill is not dealing with the policy but rather the activity. However, as a direct consequence of my deciding to regulate the activity we can do things like this. I hope and I am confident this will deal with an issue of hindrance and annoyance to people who are dealing with clamping companies.