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End of road for illegal parkers
17.02.10
IT will soon be the end
of the road for Northern drivers who park illegally
in Buncrana.
New measures, which will see the Department of
Transport work closely with the DVLA in the North to
ensure the payment of outstanding parking fines, are
currently at an advanced stage.
The Auditor’s annual report highlighted a whopping
713 unpaid parking fines in Buncrana at the end of
2008, with only 213 of these issued to motor
vehicles registered in the Republic of Ireland.
It is understood a similar number of outstanding
fines will be recorded for 2009 meaning that
Buncrana Town Council could net up to €100,000 if
all fines are recouped.
Town Engineer, Donal Walker, said hundreds of
summonses will be sent out to illegal parkers
resident in the Republic by the end of March. |
“After 56 days have
elapsed we will issue summonses to owners of
illegally parked vehicles. We have been careful not
to chase these fines up until now to make sure that
we comply with all the legal standards,” he told
last week’s Town Council meeting.
Mr Walker said new cross-border measures would soon
allow Buncrana Town Council to aggressively chase
vehicle owners from the North who had been ticketed
in Inishowen.
Town Clerk, Seamus Canning, said the Council already
used a debt collection |
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agency to collect
parking fines across Europe. He added that the
increased cross-border co-operation on the issue was
part of a national campaign.
“The harmonization of the penalty points, North and
South, has brought the issue of non-paid fines to
the fore. The Department of Transport are keen to
reach agreement as soon as possible with the DVLA
after many Northern drivers flouted the barrier-free
toll system on the M50 in Dublin recently,” he said.
Mr. Canning said that the Data Protection Act had
previously held back an agreement between North and
South on parking fines but that a deal was close to
being completed.
The new measures will also allow the DVLA in the
North to prosecute drivers from the Irish Republic
who disregard parking regulations.
(Inishowen Independent) |
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