Ramping up the Clamping

Dublin authorities clamping down on bad parking

Dublin’s Merrion Square West has retained its status as the capital’s top clamping blackspot for catching motorists without valid parking tickets.

Motorists are more likely to have their vehicle clamped on Merrion Square West – a popular parking location for visitors to the National Gallery, Natural History Museum and Dáil Eireann - than anywhere else in the city.

A total of 735 cars were clamped on Merrion Square West last year – an increase of 38 on the same location in 2013.

When all four sides of the famous Georgian square are counted, a total of 1,769 vehicles were clamped last year with Merrion Square South also featuring in the top 20 of the city’s clamping blackspots.

Mespil Road on the banks of the Grand Canal is the second favourite target of clampers followed by Upper Ormond Quay, Pearse Street and Waterloo Road.

Four streets dropping out of the top 20 clamping blackspots included Lower Dominick Street which was the location of the fourth highest number of clamps in 2013. Others were D’Olier Street, Townsend Street and South Great George’s Street.

New figures from Dublin City Council show a total of 56,601 vehicles were clamped in the capital last year – up 0.5% on the previous year.

Nevertheless revenue from fees paid by the owners of clamped vehicles fell by 1.9% to €4.24m. 

A spokesperson for Dublin City Council said the decrease was explained by a variation in fees based on the length of time vehicles were impounded before they were retrieved by their owners.

Motorists face a €80 fee to have their clamped vehicle released, while the owners of cars which have been towed away and removed to the city pound face a minimum charge of €160 to reclaim their vehicle.

Income from paid parking tickets, however, rose by 4.1% to €24.1m.  Overall, revenue for the council from paid-parking and declamping fees remained relatively static at €28.34m.

The local authority’s parking appeals officer, William Keilthy, has recommended that the declamping fee should be increased by at least €50 to €130 as the current €80 fee has been unchanged since 1998.

An analysis of clamping data reveals motorists are most likely to have their vehicles clamped on a Thursday followed by Fridays and Tuesdays.

More vehicles in Dublin were clamped on a Saturday than on a Monday last year, while Sundays are traditionally the quietest weekday for clampers due to reduced parking restrictions.

Vehicles are most likely to be clamped in the months of November, February and October, while the least number of clamps occurred during December, April and August.

The busiest time of day for clampers is between 1-2pm and 8-9am, while the quietest period during office hours is 3-4pm. 

However, around 10% of all clamps are issued after 7pm with one unlucky motorist having his vehicle clamped on Camden Street at 4am for obstructing traffic.