Special parking permits for volunteers in Limerick city

COUNCILLORS are to investigate introducing a special parking permit for people providing voluntary services in the city centre in order to prevent them being fined.

It comes after council ticket inspectors placed a ticket on a vehicle belonging to the Samaritans charity, which exists to provide emotional support to people in distress, lonely, struggling to cope or feeling suicidal.

At this month’s council meeting, a recommendation from the transportation meeting came forward seeking the introduction of such a permit which would ensure this would not happen in future.

Now, the Green Party councillor for City East, Sean Hartigan is seeking to have the by-laws changed in order to bring in a “multi-location parking permit”.

This, he says will allow them to “deliver essential and important services to people in the city centre area.”

An alteration to the by-laws will be discussed at the next transport committee meeting, due to take place on Tuesday, April 23.

If approved, it will then be brought forward for rubber-stamping at the final full council meeting of this term, set for Monday, May 27.

Councillor Hartigan said he was “shocked” when he saw the Samaritans van had been ticketed.

He ultimately managed to get the fine overturned.

“These are people going out giving their free time for the benefit of society and trying to help people in a vulnerable situation.

"And now they are afraid to park their own van on the side of a road. We should be trying to help them in every possible way and not hinder them,” he said.

Cllr Hartigan said he had to “push and push and push” to get the fine rescinded.

“They (Samaritans volunteers) had parked the van strategically so the message could be seen by people who might be at risk of taking their own lives. So they might park it near the docks or the bridge and it might have some impact,” said the councillor.

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He expects under this new by-law, not only will the Samaritans be able to benefit from these passes, but other similar organisations providing volunteer services in the city will also be able to apply.

Cllr Sasa Novak, who chairs the transport committee, is supportive of the by-law change.

She said: “It’s a model which works in Waterford. It’ll have to be very tightly worded so it applies to organisations that really do very valuable work in the city centre.”