Parking anywhere in the Dublin area is an emotive issue these days - but when it comes to parking cars in front gardens it is even more problematic. Off-street parking might be taken for granted by householders in the outer suburbs but parking outside one's own house isn't guaranteed for residents close to the city - or, indeed, near DART stations where residents compete with commuters.

Householders have no absolute right to park outside their homes. Planning permission is required to open up driveways but that permission is becoming harder to obtain, especially in conservation areas. But, thanks to pressure from householders, the Residential Disc parking scheme - whereby residents pay £20 a year to park on their street - is being augmented from March 1st with the introduction of a Visitor's Disc parking scheme.

A secure and convenient space for a car isn't the only reason for off-street parking. Some residents have been going into business and illegally renting out spaces to commuters while others are parking more than the stipulated number of cars for which permission was granted.

New bus corridors are forcing some people to consider parking in front gardens and auctioneers estimate that parking is a strong selling point when a house is on the market, worth up to £50,000 in some areas close to the city.

Permission from a local authority is necessary to open up a driveway where the carriage of the road is more than four metres wide, but real controversy arises in conservation areas where walls and railings are considered part of an historic streetscape.

The 1998 Dublin City Draft Development Plan indicated that the creation of driveways that involved removal of original railings and altering streetscapes would not be favourably received.

Senior executive planning officer for Dublin Corporation Mary Conway also points out that the loss of on-street parking is also an issue. "The parking of cars in front gardens takes away from the character of a building," she says, but the new policy doesn't mean people cannot apply for permission, even in conservation areas.

"People are still free to apply for it and special cases can be made, especially if the changes are to be done in a sensitive manner and special care is paid to the boundary material. But we will still probably be against it," she warns.

This stipulation refers most specifically to List 1 and List 2 homes in areas such as Ballsbridge, Rathmines, Ranelagh, Donnybrook, Drumcondra and Phibsboro - but no matter where parking is requested, the matter of toning in with the existing streetscape is crucial and the corporation insists on certain guidelines. Also, the dishing of the public pavement must be carried out by the local authorities - but paid for by the householder.

Landscaper Dessie O'Donoghue has been laying out off-street parking spaces for residents in central Dublin for over 10 years. He says people are increasingly moving away from having grass in their front gardens. "They are using the back garden for the kids and for the patio area and for generally sitting out, so they want to make use of the front gardens and parking is an obvious option as well as being convenient, especially from a security point of view. If ever tyres are slashed anywhere, we get lots of calls in the weeks immediately afterwards."

Services such as electricity, water and gas must be located before work can begin. The ESB will provide residents with a map showing where wires run and the gas company will help locate pipes.

Studying existing off-street parking arrangements on a given road is helpful, as Dessie likes to preserve the character of an area.

Obviously, there must be room for a car, meaning sufficient space between the front boundary (be it a wall, railing or otherwise) and the front of the building. The space may be sufficient for a small car but not for a large one, which could protrude over the footpath.

Even if the garden is big enough for several cars, it is still preferred that cars take up a minimum area of paved surface in order to reduce the impact on the grass, trees and shrubs. It is usual to get planning permission to park one or two cars.

Surface material is also important. Concrete is not recommended since it can crack and be unsightly but precast stones, slabs and gravel are suggested, along with cobbles and setts so as to avoid the monotony of a large, unrelieved area. The base course is equally important, comprising alternating layers of dust and stone beneath the surface.

Fashions come and go in driveway design, according to Dessie O'Donoghue. "Curves are in and squares are out," he says, "which is why the bricks work so well. Tarmac is shoddy. Gravel, such as Roadstone or Ballylusk, is popular now but for driveways the slabs aren't really all that popular because of the risk of oil spillages from cars."

Boundary walls, gate pillars and piers must be replaced in accordance with the existing gate design. The entrance should ideally be widened on one side only, rather than breaking through the wall. The same applies to iron railings, gate piers and pillars. Reusing the existing gate as one half of the new gate is encouraged. The pressure on parking is such that having the facility to park in your front garden is a bonus when selling a property. Simon Ensor, of Sherry FitzGerald, puts the capital value of a space at around £25,000. "Having parking for two cars close to the city in a street such as, say, Upper Leeson Street can add between £25,000 and £50,000 to the value of a property," he says.

Residential disc parking schemes are seen as the panacea in the conservation areas where the streetscape is important. Councillor Dermot Lacey, a member of the corporation's traffic committee, points to the domino effect. "As soon as we introduce residential disc parking in one place, the problem moves on to another area. This is why it would be better if the public transport system was improved and fewer cars used. On the other hand, people have cars and want to park them"

The introduction of visitors' parking discs is seen as one solution for residents fed up buying discs for visitors. Each residential parking holder will be entitled to 50 discs for visitors every year, which will be valid for a 24-hour period.

The unofficial renting out of spaces in front gardens is also becoming a problem. Councillor Carmencita Hederman estimated the going rate at £1,200 a year. "We know it is going on but it is against normal planning permission. People would need to a get a change to commercial use. The main problem is actually proving that people are doing it."