Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 19 February 2015

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport

Vehicle Clamping Bill 2014: Committee Stage

2:00 pm

Photo of Catherine MurphyCatherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 7:

In page 26, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following:

“Amendment of section 35 of the Road Traffic Act 1994

32.Section 35(2) of the Road Traffic Act 1994 is amended by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (l):
“(l) specifying, or authorising specified road authorities by resolution to specify, the places in which vehicles may be parked either indefinitely or for any period not exceeding a specified period; and to provide for the ability of specified road authorities to either wholly or partially review, amend or abolish such resolutions at any time.”.”.

I appreciate the Minister has said already that the intent of the Bill is purely in respect of the regulation of clampers and clamping. Given the absence of impending legislation in this area, there is a lack of opportunity to deal with something that I believe is a problem. It may not be so much a problem for cities, or perhaps it is, but certainly I have felt frustrated about it for many years. Local authority by-laws are used to regulate parking in towns. They make the by-laws and put them out for public consultation. Considerable effort and expense, including administrative, consultation and advertising expense, is undertaken when doing that. Then, after six months, the authority may discover that it must amend an element of the laws. However, it is not possible to amend it piecemeal; whole sections of by-laws are then requires to be amended. The local authority must make amendments for an entire town rather than simply making amendments for a section of a town. It is not possible to have only one section amended; the authority is obliged to open it all up again.

The process of making by-laws for the first time is not without its challenges. Opening it up all again can lead to opening up areas that the authority never intended to reopen, some of which may have been contentious initially. Making provision in law for the local authorities to deal with it in this way, if they so wish, makes sense from the point of view of the ease of making by-laws. It would allow local authorities to carry out reviews and those reviews could respond to specific elements. The authorities could contain what they need to do. That is what is intended. I accept the point that I know the Minister will make.He will say that this is not what this Bill in this intended for. It would require the Minister to insert a miscellaneous section were he willing to accept it.

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