Parking tax edges closer

CONTROVERSIAL NEW proposals to implement a tax on parking spaces in urban areas are almost ready to be implemented – at least in Dublin.

Recommendations on the extent of the designated urban areas in which the tax will be collected are to be ready “within the next few weeks”, according to the Department of the Environment, which has been consulting city authorities in Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Limerick and Galway on the issue.

Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan, who announced the measure in October’s Budget, has asked for a draft scheme by the end of June. This deadline will be met by Minister for the Environment John Gormley, his department has confirmed.

The tax will consist of a flat fee of €200 per year on each worker provided with a free car parking space by their employer. Shift workers who may not have access to public transport because of their working hours will be exempt. The onus to ensure compliance will be on the employer. The Cabinet had already approved the measure in principle and officials are aiming to have it in operation later this year.

The move will affect many of the 64,000 motorists who drive into Dublin city each day – some 15,000 of whom the Dublin Transportation Office calculates are civil and public servants with free parking.

Mr Gormley’s recommendations for Dublin will address the scope of the designations – whether to match the city’s clamping area – in effect the whole city – or to select zones in urban centres, along with a possible blanket zone between the canals. A source said the recommendations were almost concluded, but this aspect remained to be finalised.

However, while the Department of the Environment confirmed it would be making recommendations by the end of June, The Irish Timesunderstands progress is not as advanced in regional cities.

The main problem encountered is opposition from businesses who fear the tax will be another cost to doing business.

The Department of the Environment emphasised the final decision on the scheme was with the Minister for Finance.

Dublin City Council recently announced that, following years of decline in the numbers of cars crossing the canal cordon in the morning peak, volumes picked up again last year.

However, Dublin City Business Association said the increase in cars – including taxis – in 2008 was less than 1 per cent and that the overall number had decreased by 10 per cent in the past decade. Spokesman Tom Coffey said the pricing structure for car parks was designed to exclude all-day parking, as it became very expensive to use a car park for more than a few hours.

Mr Coffey said car-using shoppers were vital to the economy and that traffic congestion could be solved by removing free parking for civil and public servants. “They would be forced to use public transport,” he said. But he insisted that as the peak time for shoppers is 10am to 4pm Monday to Friday and is already priced to discourage long stays, it could not be considered in the same terms as commuter traffic.