Clare Councillor Calls For A New Text Alert Scheme

0:00Claire Castle, Fienafol, Councillor Tom O'Callan's calling for new measures to tackle the misuse of disabled parking spaces. He recently brought a motion before Claire County Council proposing a text alert system that would allow members of the public to report vehicles legally parked in disabled bays directly to traffic wardens for enforcement. The council says it supports the idea in principle and will now carry out a feasibility assessment, including looking at how similar schemes operate in other areas and Tom is on the line. Now, good morning to you, Tom. Good morning, Alan. So you brought this motion before the local authority about bringing in a text alert scheme for the misuse of disabled parking bays. I guess in terms of what prompted you to raise the issue, how serious an issue is this? Well, look, I suppose, first of all, I have been approached by people and that are vulnerable and they have disability or just maybe just age or, you know, maybe mobility. And they've just come to me, you know, casually and they've said, Tom, we're having an awful time trying to get close, maybe to their chemists, maybe to their hair stylist, maybe to, you know, their shop.

1:03And they're finding it very difficult to get a gas basis. And I said, how do you mean? Well, they said, you know, when we arrive to say a parking bay, there's somebody parking in that bay, which are not entitled to us. They don't have a sticker. So there has to be a way I felt how we going to address this. And I said, well, I did a bit of research now, Alan. And when I did that research, I know there's an, I have to compliment, check out the council in 2022. There were 78 spaces, allocations and there are 31 parking bays that specifically allocation for age, friendly use. Now, they've actually increased that by a further tree. So the council are doing a great job. It is the public that are being very poor here in that they're allowing themselves to use the space, thinking they have a right. So we have to look at, and that's what I did. I did a bit of research, and I found that in Luke, in Dublin and in Gordon, wexford, they actually have a system of place where if somebody passed illegal, they can contact the public ward immediately. And that person gets fined.

2:05That's the way forward. And the fact that you are supposed raising this as an idea, does that suggest that enforcement hasn't been washed, a code, and perhaps should be? I suppose it comes back to Alan, and people are well known out this stage, you know, I have a huge respect for mature people and people that need that bit of help being in the role I am as a postmassive for many years. And what I found here was, and when I again looked at the recent survey, the disabled driver association indicated 94% respondents would welcome a text alert scheme to notify wardens of illegal parking. And the survey also found that many people disabilities, they feared the confrontation. So they actually feared going up to somebody that was parking illegally in the first place. So what they effectively do will do is that there'll be a sign in each of those bays, and remember the public will be able to scan us, and they will be able to go directly to the warden. The warden then will be able to issue immediately when he arrives on site, a ticket, and that person is now liable for 150 euro fine.

3:10And I can assure you, Alan, if that is done, we'll see a dramatic change of mindset, and the people that benefit are the ones that those bays are far, and that to me is what this will do. Do you think this could lead to more fines and enforcement, Tom, or is it more about encouraging people to think twice before parking illegally that if and when this comes in initially, you'll see more enforcement more fines, but that that will taper off when the word gets out. And people, as to say, will think twice before even parking in a disabled day. Yeah, I think that's it. And they're getting on to come back to the coast. They're a great job to provide the spaces. They've actually played a lot of them very recently on request for myself as well with the engineers, great team inside the road section. And then we look at you see, and again, it's been well documented that I have concerns about our town, our parking. I mean, we're very far. We have a very good director service with Jason Murphy. The clients are now is developing fantastic. We have a great deal in Margaret, Brian, the chamber, and we're present in demons.

4:11And we're all focusing now on how do we create extra cash basis for the town? So what we have to do is take pressure off the public. So they're not, I suppose, temptors. And you know, I suppose everybody would be doing it. I was a palace and they take Azure. I just pop in here for two seconds, but what they're realizing and which is wrong is that that one member that needs that cash space. If they can't get in, the family can't get in and it creates this unnecessary stress. So really, I suppose it's a giant of thinking here and we really need to look at how do we create more easy access within our existing town. You know, maybe we have to look at our shopping model that we have already. Do we close shops in the middle of the week or early the week, open on the Sundays, make it more user friendly. And the council are a great job in opening the early morning. So people go in very early to get where they need to get there. But it's awful if somebody's parking where they shouldn't. So the reality of this is, I find this now, Alan here in the right now, for example, in my own business, nobody likes paying a fine. So the current fine at the moment is 150 euro. I think that will make people think. And if they don't pay that 150 euro, they're liable for 300 euro.

5:24And given the rising cost and so many different aspects of lifetime, obviously with fuel and so on 150 or 300 euro would be a serious seriously missed from someone's pocket. Well, I have to say when I brought this into the chamber, I discussed with my colleagues, all the seven counselors, as I include myself, agreed that this was a fantastic option to go forward. And I think there's one that we'll all embrace. I think that the most important thing that all of these little policies were putting forward, which are really making a big significance to individuals that need those spaces. It's a game changer. And that's really what we're trying to do here. How can we do our business better? You know, I have highlighted many times about, you know, we now have the fence history situation. There's nothing happened on that size. You know, we need to sit down with Paul, who's a great guy in 2040. We need to look at, well, is there going to be development? Because I believe, by the way, that there's a problem there with the model for the housing that we propose. So if that is the case, why will you leave that empty size not open? And I can assure you that if I own that size, it'll be generated money. We need to get money back in, we need to get easy access.

6:33And if we can achieve that, and I think we can, we'll see a much more user-friendly for all ages and all people. And that's really what the whole idea of this motion was. In response to your motion, the councillor said it'll carry out a feasibility assessment and consult with groups like the Disabled Drivers Association. What would you like to see come out of that review? Oh, I think, logically, let's get this in play. And I guarantee you that you will see a significant different mindset. You know, really, what we, we have a more magnificent town. I think if we just take a step back and we look at how do we make it more accessible? And that's really what we're going to do here. I find when you find people, they do think differently, and that needs to be addressed. We have fantastic wardens on the ground. They've set it themselves, people parking different places. That has to be addressed. And the only way to do it is make it more user-friendly, make it easier for the warden, and give control to the people. This is what this will do. You'll have very conscientious people that are very bothered for all those individuals that need those spaces.

7:33They will take that warden, and those individuals will get fined. And that to me will be a fantastic step forward. Do you think an office in general has been done in towns like NS2 support accessibility for people with disabilities? Not just in NS, but in Claire, like are there enough disabled? Is there enough disabled parking available across the county? And are the particular areas where maybe access and parking for people with disabilities needs a look at needs improvement? Well, you see, Alan, I've always said it, and again, to reiterate, there is a shortage of car parking, and I call it front-tier car parking, where you can get very near the businesses, the shops, people to get moved around. I've always said, and I continue to say this, we have an idea site there, the Tempigate Hotel, that should be developed in my opinion, and most of our car park, we all need to now focus on getting that donor believe. We have to look at donor stores, get them the opportunity to double the size of their whole concept here is the easy flow. And if you make it easier accessible, I guarantee you we'll transform our town in a very short space of time. Because realistically, we only have AC1 designated spaces in all of our town, and you have taught you one car parking base, allocated for the age-friendly use.

8:42So if you think of us, we have a population of heading for 30,000, so there are those spaces are always going to be under attack. But what this will do, it will be a fundamental game changer in a basically finding out who is actually parking where they should be parking, and they get fined. But the sole concept here is, is there a better way of making our town more user friendly, and this is definitely a step forward, I believe. If and when this comes in, Tom could NS Act as a pilot, could this text alert scheme be rolled out countywide? I would hope that we'll make it national, I'd be talking to our doctors members here in our county to talk to their fellow colleagues because really, this is getting power back to the people. I've always said it, people first, and it doesn't matter who you are, you've all a right, and if you don't have that right, that is wrong. So this is a policy that I believe would make a big difference to the people that need us, and that's me would be loving see happen. Okay, be interesting to see if and when this comes in, Tom, thank you very much. That's the Claire Castle, Fina Foll, Councillor Tom O'Callan with us on morning focus.