Pay-Parking Bye-Laws: Required Steps Not Followed
Before a council can create paid parking rules, it must follow a strict set of steps: consult the Garda Commissioner; publish a public notice in a newspaper; allow at least one month for the public to inspect the draft rules; accept written comments (with a closing date no earlier than two weeks after the inspection period ends); and consider all comments received. The rules must also be voted through by the council's elected members — not just officials. After the rules are made, a notice announcing this and where copies can be bought must be published in Iris Oifigiúil and in a newspaper. If any of these steps were skipped, a charge enforced under those rules can be challenged.
Legal basis
Road Traffic Act 1994 s.36(3), s.36(5) and s.36(6).
How to identify this in your case
Ask the council — by formal request or Freedom of Information request — for: the record showing the Garda Commissioner was consulted; the newspaper notice advertising the draft rules; proof the public inspection period lasted at least one month; the closing date for written comments (it must be no earlier than two weeks after the inspection period ended); the elected-member resolution formally adopting the rules; and the Iris Oifigiúil notice published after the rules were made. If any of these documents are missing or show a step was skipped, this ground may apply to you.
Sample appeal wording
Sample wording to adapt and send yourself — it may not fit your notice or the stage you are at.
The bye-laws relied on were not made in accordance with the mandatory s.36(3)/(5)/(6) procedure; the charge is unenforceable.
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