Clamping "to be considered" for Longford Town in 2026

A county councillor has proposed the introduction of clamping “or other strong enforcement measures” for those who park unlawfully in disabled bays, loading bays, and the taxi rank at Market Square.

Cllr Kevin Hussey proposed the motion at the recent meeting of Longford Municipal District, but stressed the suggestion of such “additional enforcement” would only be directed at those parking in disabled bays, loading bays, and the taxi rank, and not at drivers who simply fail to display a ticket.

Speaking at the meeting the councillor voiced his disgust at the number of motorists who park in disabled bays in Longford Town, and said, “Two weeks ago, I got a car removed from a disabled bay on Dublin Street that had been parked there for three days.

“The traffic warden did his job, there were tickets on there every single day, but in the end, I had to call the Gardaí to remove the vehicle. If you can get out of your car in a disabled bay and you know what it's there for, then we've got big problems.”

He added, “This is not for anybody who doesn't have a ticket on their car. If you drive down Ballymahon Street, our loading bays are full of cars. People put on their hazards, and just get out of their car. They don't care. The other day as I was driving up the town, there was a driver making a delivery to Spar. He had a massive truck but there was someone double parked outside the bank. You would want to see the mayhem to try and get through that town, it’s shocking what's going on.”

In addressing the chamber, Cllr Hussey pointed out that the taxi rank outside PV’s should be a permanent fixture rather than an evening one.

He said, “One of the issues we have is that when the rank outside PVs becomes a taxi rank in the evening, people have left their car there during the day and are not back when it changes over to a taxi rank, so I'm suggesting that it be a taxi rank, and a taxi rank only.”

Cllr Seamus Butler seconded the motion and said a committee meeting was expected to take place in January with Longford Gardaí who are being phoned “time and time again by taxi drivers” over the issue of people parking in the ranks.

Cllr Peggy Nolan added her support and suggested increasing the penalty for parking in a disabled bay from its current rate of €150 to the steeper figure of €500, or €1,000 if it’s a second offence.

Senior Executive Engineer for Longford County Council, Peter Brady, said the council currently had “no plans to introduce clamping,” but that a review of the bylaws was scheduled for 2026 and that such feedback from members could be considered at that time.”

Mr Brady added that suggestions of clamping would also be taken into consideration during the review of the council’s enforcement procedures.

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