Councillors unanimously support a motion to ban clamping in Mayo town
A motion to introduce a bye-law banning vehicle clamping in Castlebar has gained the full backing of the municipal council.
The motion was brought forward by Independent councillor Michael Kilcoyne, who told the meeting he had received numerous emails from constituents describing their experiences of being clamped.
Cllr Kilcoyne told his fellow councillors about a woman who had taken her child to the doctor before quickly dashing into a nearby pharmacy, which was about to close, to collect a prescription. When she returned, a clamp had been placed on her car. He said the woman explained her situation to the operator, who allegedly “started laughing.”
In another case, a woman with a disability was sitting in her car while her carer, who had been driving, went into a pharmacy to collect an item. During that short time, the car was clamped, with the woman still inside.
“We shouldn’t tolerate things like that”, said Cllr Kilcoyne as he asked for the support of his colleagues. He asked whether the car park in question was rated because “it’s generating more money than some of the shops in town.”
“There are many places that operate clamping but they give you ten or 15 minutes. It’s misleading because people think the clamping is being carried out by the stores but it has nothing to do with them,” he added and called the practice “totally wrong”.
Cllr Al McDonnell supported the motion describing clamping as a “nasty operation” and argued there is no need for it, saying a fine is sufficient enough to deal with unpaid parking.
Cllr Blackie Gavin also backed the proposal, noting that the town council had previously attempted to outlaw the practice. “There is no leeway with the company, there is no way they will release the lock until the money is paid,” he said, “A guy a couple of years ago went down with a consaw and cut the lock on the clamp,” although Cllr Gavin stated he did not condone this act.
A Mayo resident and former parking attendant in Castlebar told the Irish Independent that he recalled one incident in which a man was clamped after leaving his car for less than five minutes to buy sanitary towels for his wife, who had just given birth.
“When he explained the situation to the operator, that he needed to get back to his wife and would pay the fine immediately, the man smiled and said it wasn’t his problem. He explained that he had to wait for the company to give clearance before removing the clamp before driving off, only to come back 20 minutes later to take it off.”
The man, said it made him feel angry and upset for the new father who was simply trying to help his wife. “They don’t understand the meaning of the word empathy,” he said.
This article was funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.