Parking Facilities and Driver TrainingThe Minister for Transport regulates traffic, parking and road traffic signs under the Road Traffic Acts 1961 to 2005. The Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations 1997 enable local authorities to provide parking bays on public roads that are reserved for use by people with mobility, sensory and cognitive impairments. For the purposes of these 1997 regulations, a disabled person means a 'person who is suffering from a disability that prevents that person from walking or causes undue hardship to the person in walking.' The design specifications laid down for a designated parking bay in the Road Traffic (Signs) Regulations 1997 requires that it must display a prescribed on-road marking in the parking bay depicting a wheelchair user symbol in white. Where a designated parking bay is provided perpendicular to the kerb it must have a minimum width of 3300mm. The additional width over and above that prescribed for a standard parking bay is to facilitate the transfer of a person to/from a wheelchair. The Department will take up with the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government the adequacy of the provision by local authorities of parking facilities for people with mobility, sensory and cognitive impairments. Disabled Person's Parking PermitThe Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations 1997 also provide for the operation of disabled persons' parking permits in Ireland. These permits may be issued by local authorities, the Irish Wheelchair Association and the Disabled Drivers Association. The permits have national application. Permits are granted to eligible disabled persons (see above definition) and may be issued to a disabled person who is a driver or to a disabled person who is a passenger. Only a vehicle displaying a disabled person's permit is allowed to park in a disabled person's parking bay and the vehicle must be parked for the convenience of the permit holder. The form of the permit (commonly referred to as the Blue Parking Card) complies with EU Recommendation 98/376/EC which allows for its recognition in other EU member states. The Irish legislation in this regard extends to disabled person's parking permits issued by other countries provided the permit contains the recognised pictorial symbol of a person sitting in a wheelchair. EnforcementThe Road Traffic Act 2002 empowers the Minister for Transport to apply a fixed charge system to breaches of road traffic law and from 3 April 2006 the offence of illegally parking in a disabled person's parking bay was brought within the remit of this enforcement regime. Where illegal parking in a disabled person's bay is detected a member of An Garda Siochána or a traffic warden employed by a local authority can issue a Fixed Charge Notice. The person liable to be prosecuted for the offence has the option, in lieu of going to court, of making a fixed charge payment in the amount of €80 within 28 days from issue of the Notice or to pay that amount increased by 50%, i.e. a fixed charge in the amount of €120 within the next 28-day period. If no payment is received within 56 days, court prosecution proceedings are initiated. The fixed charge that applies for breach of parking in other parking bays is €40 (or €60 if paid in second 28-day period) so the level fixed charge that applies to illegal parking in a disabled person's parking bay is significantly higher in order to act as a deterrent against abuse of these designated bays. The Road Traffic Act 2004 introduces an express power of inspection of permits, including disabled persons' permits, by members of An Garda Siochána and traffic wardens to assist in the detection of misuse or abuse of parking permits. The 2004 Act also provides that the Minister may prescribe a fee for the issue of permits. Regulatory ReviewThe Department of Transport is aware from submissions received of serious difficulties with the operation of the disabled person's parking scheme. These include the significant expansion of the numbers of cardholders and the question of the abuse of the system by non-disabled drivers. As a means of addressing the issues the Department, in consultation with the Disabled Drivers Association, the Irish Wheelchair Association, some local authorities and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has commenced a review of the regulatory framework applying to the scheme. The aim of this review is to identify changes to the disabled persons parking permit scheme that would safeguard its beneficial operation for people with mobility, sensory and cognitive impairments. The Department is reviewing both primary and secondary legislation with regard to the operation and enforcement of the disabled persons' parking permit scheme with a view to ensuring that a robust scheme is in place. In addition, the legislation in relation to the provision of parking bays for disabled people is being reviewed with a view to examining the following:
It is intended that this review will be completed in the course of 2006 and that, if any legislative amendments are identified, these will be pursued as soon as possible thereafter. Driver TrainingThe Department of Transport will take up with the Road Safety Authority issues concerning:-
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