Tour coach drivers have warned that they will not drop off or pick up tourists outside hotels and some tourist venues without parking areas this season because their vehicles are being clamped or towed away.
The annual meeting of the Irish Coach Drivers' Association in Dublin was told yesterday that traffic restrictions in the capital were making it impossible for coach-drivers to park. They called for basic access facilities at hotels and venues.
Mr Robert Emmett, chairman of the association, said most of the city-centre hotels had no setdown point where drivers could safely park to drop off or pick up tourists.
"Instead, they have to stop on double yellow lines or double-park while constantly running the gauntlet of gardai and clampers. Last year, at least two tour coaches were towed away by gardai while tourists looked on with utter disbelief." If the Government and the corporation were serious about looking after 5 million visitors then they should at least provide basic access facilities for them to hotels. The Minister of State for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Mr Chris Flood, told the meeting that the success of tourism and the economy had contributed to traffic-related problems.
He said Dublin Corporation planned to designate additional short and medium-stay coach parking areas in the city centre. Ms Cora Collins, chairwoman of the Irish Coach Tourism Council of Ireland, which represents 27 companies, said 40 new hotels were planned for Dublin this year. She suggested that when a hotel applied for planning permission, adequate parking facilities should be part of the provisions. Existing hotels could be kept clear for coaches.
"These measures should be brought in before the tourist season starts, as we are trying to stave off the situation," she said. Coach-drivers and companies were not going to run the risk of being clamped and having to pay a £140 fine to be unclamped.