Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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101. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport in relation to street clamping policy, the safeguards he has put in place to ensure that clamping is used primarily to modify driver behaviour, rather than as a revenue-raising measure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7672/14]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Section 101B of the Road Traffic Act 1961 provides for the clamping and/or towing of vehicles by local authorities or their agents on public roads.

The current maximum de-clamping fee that may be charged by local authorities was set by Regulation in 1998 at £65 which, with the introduction of the euro, converted to €80. I have no proposals to increase the current fee. As the declamping fee has remained unchanged since 1998 it is clear that clamping is being used to incentivise compliance with parking regulations, rather than as a revenue generating exercise.

When properly used as part of a controlled and responsible parking enforcement regime, clamping is intended to modify driver behaviour so as to encourage the sustainable use of parking facilities, which is by its nature a finite resource intended for the common good.  Prior to the introduction of clamping in Dublin, the problems associated with illegal parking were endemic, causing difficulties for residents and traders alike who could not access parking during business hours, as metered spaces were often occupied by all-day commuters. Contrasting Dublin before the introduction of clamping with today, it is evident that the use of clamping as an instrument of  public parking policy has been highly effective.