The extension of paid parking is leading to abuse of free spaces in the precincts of churches around the country. Portlaoise parish has warned that clampers will be used to stop all-day parking in the car park of St Peter and Paul’s Church.
The warning was issued after as many as eighty cars belonging to people commuting to work in the town are left in the church car park from early morning until evening, taking spaces from bona fide worshippers.
Parish priest Fr John Byrne said the cars parked in the church meant people attending the 10am daily Mass and other services, including funerals, were unable to find a space. To preserve the car park for users of the church and the nearby parish centre, parking at the church will not be restricted to a maximum of two hours.
“Reluctantly we have conceded that clamping is the only way to enforce this” he explained.
“We do hope not to have to use this but parishioners using the church and centre are entitled to a car parking space.”
Fr Byrne said that some of the commuters abusing the car park had heeded notices threatening them with clamping which were posted up in the church car park and placed on windscreens of offending cars.
The notices warn motorists that cars parked over two hours will be liable to be clamped with a release charge of €100.
He said the “real problem” was the lack of legitimate parking which was pushing cars elsewhere and the solution to the issue would be for additional car parking to be provided in the town.
Fr Byrne’s initiative follows a recent similar threat from his Donegal colleague Fr John Walsh that cars abusing free parking spaces at St Mary's Oratory in Buncrana will be towed away.
There, the introduction of pay and display parking in the town swelled the number of motorists using the 68 free spaces in the church grounds, even though the municipal charge is only 50 cents an hour.
As in Portlaoise, commuters and shoppers using the free facilities were squeezing out genuine church-goers. Fr Walsh said that if people were abusing the carpark just to avoid paying the town parking charges, their vehicles would be towed away.
"There are funerals and weddings here quite often too and people need to be able to park during these services" he pointed out.
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