Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House and the commencement of this Bill in Seanad Éireann. Very often we can be the forgotten House, so it is great to see the Bill commencing here. It is honouring another commitment in the programme for Government, which was also in the Fine Gael manifesto prior to the last general election. That is to be welcomed. The Bill comes from a lengthy period of consultation with stakeholders, which I also welcome.

I am pleased to support the Bill on the basis that it regulates clamping activities wherever they take place. As we know, clamping is a particularly emotive issue, and in my city of Galway, the local authority dispensed with this method of parking supervision six or seven years ago because of the annoyance that it caused. It was a most unpopular practice, and regulation in this area is long overdue. We can all give many examples of motorists encountering unfairness, arrogance and intransigence at the hands of clampers. It seems that no explanation for overstaying parking time, no matter how genuine, ever seems to be accepted. Many motorists have fallen foul of clampers by not knowing that clamping is in operation in a particular area, so I welcome that the persons responsible for enforcing parking restrictions - referred to in the Bill as parking controllers - will now be obliged to provide signage that is prominently displayed, indicating that clamping is in operation, along with the costs associated with those activities.

I support very strongly Senator Moloney's comments about signage, particularly the posting of details of where a vehicle will be held if it is towed away and how to contact the clamping company in order to have the vehicle returned. I welcome the setting of a maximum clamp release charge, as such charges seem to vary greatly throughout the country. This has been a source of much complaint from the general public. One of the strengths of the Bill is the two-tier appeals system. In the past, motorists' experiences of appealing to the clamping companies have seldom resulted in a satisfactory outcome for the appellant. A system of appeal to an independent clamping appeals officer designated by the National Transport Authority seems fair and appropriate.

The clamping of vehicles in hospital car parks, which has already been mentioned, is particularly contentious.

In University Hospital Galway, one of the major complaints of those attending the hospital, whether as visitors or patients, is the lack of adequate parking facilities.