Non-official Garda cars to face clamping

The apparent immunity from clamping enjoyed by non-official Garda cars in Dublin is due to come to an end.

Since clamping was introduced in 1999, motorists have watched with envy as scores of cars parked on kerbs and double-yellow lines around city Garda stations remained unclamped.

However, this week Control Plus, the company which operates clamping under licence from Dublin City Council, has been placing warning stickers on cars parked in these areas, including the private cars of gardaí.

The red stickers advise the driver that they are parked illegally and will in future be clamped.

Gardaí told The Irish Times last night that they have been told by the company they will start clamping their illegally- parked cars from next Monday.

"This looks like it might come to a head. Gardaí need their cars, they can't just deflate them and bundle them up," one annoyed garda said.

"They told people in here that they would clamp this week but we need more time than that. Now they said they will begin to clamp at 9.30 a.m. on Monday."

The move is likely to bring to an end the current situation where privately-owned Garda cars - some of them up to 15 years old - are daily parked on the "official Garda vehicles only" areas, while squad and vans are parked on double-yellow lines in surrounding streets.

On Pearse Street, in the centre of Dublin, there has been a huge increase in the number of non-official Garda cars parked around the station. They are parked along the street to the corner of Tara Street, and on the wide kerb near the Screen Cinema.

When contacted last night Mr Neil Cunningham, a director of Control Plus, said he was not in a position to explain where the initiative for the warning notice had come from.