Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We are different jurisdictions. It is up to us to make different decisions if we want to, even if the circumstances are the same. That is the nature of sovereignty.

The alternative to clamping, as the Deputy will be aware, is a fines system where one puts a fine notice on a car and one must bring the person through the courts. That is more cumbersome, expensive and probably less effective than clamping in terms of deterrence. What drove behavioural change in irregular or illegal parking was clamping. When motorists were merely given a fixed charge notice, there were all sorts of problems.

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