Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I hear the Senator’s passion and clear commitment to the issue. We are absolutely in agreement that the improper use of disabled parking is extremely selfish and causes grave disruption for people with disabilities who need access to those spaces. They are provided to people with mobility difficulties who need access to parking close to shops and other amenities and where the bays are designed to be wider to allow for people who have difficulty getting in and out of vehicles to have the space that they need.

As the Senator said, when someone parks illegally in a disabled parking bay, they face a fixed-charge penalty of €150, rising to €225 if it is not paid within 28 days, and rising further to €300, which is well above the usual fixed-charge rates. Most other parking offences incur a €40 charge. This penalty is now the highest of all the fixed-charge driving and parking offences.

I share the Senator’s concern about the issue. I acknowledge, as he said, that he has raised the issue with me before of whether we should go further and apply penalty points for the offence, which is now before us as the Senator’s amendment. I am afraid that I have not changed my view. As I indicated in the past, I do not consider this is the appropriate place for penalty points.

Ever since they have been introduced, penalty points have been focused on offences that involve driving and moving traffic, which is to say, offences causing danger and not just inconvenience. They are driving penalty points offences. The fact that the only parking offence to attract penalty points is dangerous parking, which is parking that could cause a risk to moving traffic, is an example of that definition. Penalty points are there to enforce traffic safety and affect driving safety. That distinction is something that we should retain.

For now, penalty points for parking in a disabled space is not appropriate, but we would be open to increasing the fines further, and we have recently increased a number of the fines for on-street parking and other offences. The proposals here would undermine the focus on the penalty points system on driving offences involving moving traffic and I do not believe it would necessarily combat the illegal use of disabled parking bays. We could do that with higher fines, which would be more appropriate.

I would also like to take the opportunity to point out to the Senator that in this Bill we are making amendments to enable prosecution for fraud where people make a false application for disabled parking permits that will, I hope, help reduce the incidence of fraud and, therefore, free up spaces for those who are legitimately entitled to use them.

With regard to amendment No. 75, I share the Senator’s concerns about the misuse of disabled parking spaces. As I indicated, it carries the highest fixed charge for parking offences and I am happy in that score, although it is always open to reconsideration. In this case, Senator Boyhan is proposing that a person who does not pay the fixed charges goes to court and is convicted should receive a class D fine. This is a fine up to a maximum of €1,000 at the discretion of the judge. While I appreciate the intention, I have to point out that this would mean reducing the fine against what it is today. It would actually have a slightly counterproductive impact.

The rules for disabled parking bays are set out in regulations made under section 35 of the Road Traffic Act 1994. This means that the offence of a misuse of a disabled parking space is an offence under that section. In turn, the penalty for such an offence is the general penalty under road traffic Acts, which is a fine of up to €1,000 for the first offence, €2,000 for second or subsequent offence, and a fine of up to €2,000 and-or up to three months in prison for a third or subsequent offence of the same type within a 12-month period. A class D fine would, therefore, be the same as the current fine for a first offence, but a reduction of the penalty for second and subsequent offences. I know that is not the Senator’s intention and I appreciate his intention. However, the amendment would actually weaken it, strangely, because of that technical issue and the existing of ability to fine someone who is guilty.