Onus on Gardaí to address 'free for all' parking in Dundalk

The onus to address illegal parking in Dundalk lies with the Gardaí according to Fine Gael councillor Robert Nash. 

Cllr Nash's comments came in response to calls for Louth County Council to tackle the issue. 

He acknowledged that illegal parking is "very bad" in the town but said councillors can't be quick to blame the council. 

"It is very bad, but there is an onus on the roads policing and the guards, you can't be quick to blame the council all the time if they are illegally parking on double-yellow lines. I’d be contacting the Gardaí. We have to tackle this from every angle," he said. 

A spokesperson for Louth County Council said the local authority is aware of locations where illegal parking is prevalent however, said it is "hamstrung" in terms of what it can do.

Read Next: Louth County Council told to 'make an example of someone' to curb dumping on Racecourse Road

Independent councillor Ciarán Fisher described the situation as a "free for all" and called on the local authority to expand the remit of traffic wardens and to increase the overall number of wardens. 

"You don’t have to go far to see people parking on footpaths and on double-yellow lines. It's starting to get to the stage it looks like you can park wherever you want and nothing will happen."

"You can take the risk because the risk-to-reward ratio is very much in favour of the person breaking the law," he said. 

He said it is stopping wheelchairs, prams and people with disabilities getting past it is an issue that is "growing week-by-week". 

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.