Car park fee over top for cliff visitors

Dozens of motorists are parking illegally at any one time near the Cliffs of Moher, avoiding the €5 parking charge imposed by Clare County Council on visitors.

Supt Eamon Dolan of Ennistymon Garda station confirmed yesterday that he had asked the council to take measures to end snarl-ups at the cliffs caused by illegal parking.

Supt Dolan said gardaí in north Clare had issued hundreds of tickets to motorists parked illegally on the public road adjacent to the council's car-park for the visitor attraction.

Supt Dolan said: "At weekends, there could be up to 60 or 70 cars parked illegally at any one time and we have imposed a substantial number of parking tickets over the summer. We have also recommended that the council employ a traffic warden at the site to prevent people from parking their cars illegally."

At the start of June, the council raised the parking fee by €1 to €5 even though a sizeable portion of the cliff edge was off-limits as work continued on the €31.5 million visitor centre.

Cliffs trader Gerry Cahill said yesterday the fee "is one of the most blatant examples of rip-off Ireland as the place here is a building site at the moment and I receive complaint after complaint about the charge from tourists".

Mr Cahill is one of 19 traders and musicians that the council wants to expel from the site in circuit court proceedings.

Local councillor Martin Conway (FG) said the illegally parked cars "are causing traffic chaos and there is need for a full-time traffic warden".

Cllr Conway said the parking charge was too high and that he had "been inundated with complaints" about it. The visitor centre opens in the first quarter of 2007 when the council will increase the charge to €8 per car and €60 per coach. Cliffs of Moher project leader Ger Dollard said yesterday: "The August bank holiday weekend, traditionally the busiest weekend of the year, operated smoothly with the roadway being kept free at all times. The car park did reach capacity on a few occasions for short periods but adequate staff were in place to manage the situation.

"There will always be some indiscriminate parking but this is a minor issue." He added: "It has been exceptionally busy at the cliffs this year and at times cars were queuing to enter the car park. Approaching visitors then formed the view that the car park was full and decided to park on the side of the road as they couldn't access the car park. The deployment of additional staff to regulate and improve traffic flow has addressed this issue."

John Downes adds: A member of the public has alleged that there was "chaos" at the carpark serving Glendalough, Co Wicklow, on bank holiday Monday.

Edward Phelan, of Rathgar, Dublin, said there was "absolutely no control" of the car park and environs when he took his nephew there around 4pm on Monday. "The car park had filled up, people were trying to get in and others were trying to get out. Many people abandoned their cars by the side of the road."

A Garda press office spokeswoman said local gardaí knew of traffic congestion in Glendalough on the bank holiday. Gardaí had received a call about it but were already dealing with the matter at the time.

A spokesman for Wicklow County Council said the council had no direct responsibility for Glendalough, except for the manned car-park at the upper lake. The Office of Public Works is responsible for the visitor centre and traffic management is a matter for the Garda.