Waterford City and County Council is facing scrutiny over recent changes to the Waterford parking system, with concerns raised about the legality and fairness of new policies and fines.

At a recent council meeting, Fianna Fáil Councillor Eamon Quinlan criticised the introduction of new parking meters and enforcement practices. He highlighted a growing number of complaints from the public, particularly around fines issued for “failure to display a ticket”, despite many drivers now using a mobile app to pay for parking, which doesn’t provide a physical ticket.

“I’ve received complaints from people who are appealing fines issued for not displaying a ticket,” said Cllr Quinlan. “But if we’re encouraging people to use an app to pay, which doesn’t give you a disk to display, how can we penalise them for not showing one?”

He noted that wardens are equipped with devices that can check a car’s registration to confirm payment, suggesting that the system should be able to account for app-based transactions.

Cllr Quinlan also questioned the intent behind the council’s more advanced pay-and-display machines, which now require users to input their vehicle registration numbers. He argued this was a deliberate move to prevent drivers from passing unused time on tickets to others, a practice previously common and accepted.

“One constituent said the machine looked like something from NASA, with all the buttons and information required,” he said. “Locking tickets to a single vehicle might seem harmless, but it’s a sneaky way to stop people sharing leftover time. If someone pays for an hour and only uses 40 minutes, why shouldn’t they give the remaining 20 minutes to someone else?”

Quinlan claimed he was not aware of any recent amendments to the Council’s parking by-laws that would permit these changes, and suggested the Council could be on “legally shaky ground.”

In response, Council officials said they were confident the current bylaws support linking parking tickets to registration numbers. However, they gave a less clear answer regarding fines for not displaying tickets in cases where drivers used the app.

“I have to say we didn’t get a clear response on this, which is quite telling,” Cllr Quinlan said. “I’m not comfortable that the Council has the legal authority to restrict how people use their purchased time. If it’s challenged, I’m not sure the Council would win.”

He also raised concerns about potential gaps in the system’s ability to verify paid parking, especially if technical issues delay updates from the app.

“Any fines issued in cases where the app didn’t sync properly should be struck out,” he said. “It’s the height of summer, and this is frustrating for both locals and visitors. Older people, in particular, are finding the new machines confusing. The Council’s attempt to squeeze extra revenue in such a complicated way is frustrating and unfair.”

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