Dr. Madeleine Lyes:

The Limerick Pedestrian Network is part of the wider Irish Pedestrian Network. We advocate on behalf of pedestrians in Limerick city and county. We work to develop awareness of pedestrian needs and solutions, to foster links with other community and active travel groups and to be a source of information around best practice relating to pedestrian infrastructure and amenities. Through our voluntary activity, we consult with local and national government bodies, host public walking assessment events and are actively involved in our local public participation network. We are grateful for the opportunity to speak to the committee today on issues relating to illegal parking and can confirm the assertion of the committee that there appears to be a disregard in relation to parking on footpaths and in cycle lanes.

We are in a strange position in Ireland, where parking on footpaths is illegal under road traffic regulations, but little awareness, understanding or enforcement of this law is evident. In the context of the climate transition and in particular the enormous investment this Government is making in supporting a transformative modal shift towards active travel, the money being spent to upgrade footpaths and make walking safer and more attractive is in danger of being wasted if we continue to allow widespread pavement parking to destroy footpath surfaces and block access to pedestrian means of travel. We hope this committee will find a means of addressing this situation in a meaningful way.

We attest to the damage done by the practice of pavement parking. Pedestrians rely on footpaths to be safe and free of obstacles that could force them into the road. Parking on footpaths directly affects those with mobility difficulties, those who are blind or visually impaired, anyone walking with pushchairs, children, guide dogs or using mobility aids. Pavement parking deprives people of their liberty, significantly reducing their options for freedom of movement. It is an injustice that has a real effect on people. It particularly affects the people to whom we should want to afford the most protection and it deprives them of some very basic rights to lead fulfilled lives and participate in public life. We are regularly contacted by people highlighting examples of illegal parking and how it negatively affects their everyday lives, from parents of children attending and residents living near busy schools and multiple business owners in the city centre, to those in villages in the county who cannot safely walk or cross the road due to the presence of illegally parked cars.

These examples are so widespread and constant that they indicate a general disrespect for the law and a lack of concern at enforcement. Laws which fail to protect the vulnerable and are routinely ignored undermine public confidence in our justice system.

The Limerick Pedestrian Network accepts that no one solution to the problem of dangerous and illegal parking on footpaths and in cycle lanes exists but that a multifaceted approach involving education, enforcement and improved street design is required. We welcome the opportunity to present a few proposed solutions and urge the members of the committee to consider them for action.

Some of the things we are talking about include a continuation and upgrading of the ongoing Road Safety Authority, RSA, campaign against dangerous parking; increased enforcement and resources including community policing and online reporting; increased level of fines including ring-fencing revenue; increased use of penalty points for dangerous parking; improved street design and public realm; and following on from examples in the UK, a valuable first intervention may be to highlight particular zones for a zero-tolerance approach to pavement parking.

We would be happy to talk about any of those at this session.