A priest has warned motorists he will have their cars towed away if they abuse free parking spaces at his church.Fr John Walsh, parish priest of Buncrana, has been forced to issue the warning after the introduction of pay and display parking charges in the seaside town.
The 50c-an-hour charges have left frugal drivers scouring the town for free spaces, including those at St Mary's Oratory carpark.
Fr Walsh said people who use the church's parking facilities are leaving Mass-goers without spaces and forcing them to pay for parking elsewhere.
"We want to appeal to drivers not to be using our carpark for day-long parking. If we feel people are abusing the carpark just to avoid paying the parking charges, we will have their vehicles towed and that's not an idle threat," said Fr Walsh.
"There are funerals and weddings here quite often too and people need to be able to park during these services," he added.
The church carpark has 68 spaces, but many are also taken up daily by teachers at nearby Scoil Iosagain primary, said Fr Walsh.
He urged the local teachers to free up as many of the spaces as possible to facilitate Mass goers.
"I appeal to the teachers at Scoil Iosagain to car share as much as possible or to walk to school. The exercise will do them the world of good," he said.
Fr Walsh said he would ask local gardai about the procedures for having unwanted vehicles removed.
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