John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I understand parking by-laws are a roads function of local authorities and made under cover of the Road Traffic Acts 1961 to 2011. They fall within the remit of the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan, and the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Leo Varadkar.

There are no specific measures in the 2013 Action Plan for Jobs related to parking in town centres. However, I am aware that the impact of parking restrictions has emerged as a concern for some retailers in town centres and this concern has recently been outlined to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation by RGDATA.

The 2013 Action Plan for Jobs includes a number of measures which will support the retail sector, including an initiative to introduce a single portal for business licence applications, a new scheme to help more businesses to trade online and the integration of local business supports into a stronger local enterprise office network to provide better supports for micro and small businesses. My Department will also be chairing an indepartmental committee to consider what measures might be taken to assist the sector in the short term, for example, in the context of budget 2014 or next year's Action Plan for Jobs. In that context, I will ask my officials to examine the recent paper which I have seen on town centre parking prepared by RGDATA in consultation with the Departments with relevant policy responsibility for this issue.

See this speech in context