Councillors in Dún Laoghaire have voted to ban clamping from the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown local authority area, against the wishes of county manager Owen Keegan.
Mr Keegan, former director of traffic for Dublin City Council, last night warned councillors that their failure to allow clamping in Dún Laoghaire was probably illegal because it would contravene the provisions of the council's annual budget.
The budget for running the county had been drafted on the basis of expected revenue from clamping and the councillors would "effectively undermine your own budget" by banning clamping, he said.
Mr Keegan had intended to introduce clamping for "persistent offenders" - those found to have parked illegally on three occasions - from June 1st. He said he would be seeking a legal opinion from a senior barrister on the councillors' decision.
Following a two-hour debate on the issue, councillors voted by 17 votes to six for a motion that instructs Mr Keegan to adhere to the policy adopted by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in 2002 that clamping would not be a part of the pay-and-display parking scheme.
A similar motion had been tabled last February but was rejected following pressure from Mr Keegan. However, opposition to clamping has since multiplied, with prominent politicians - including Minister for Education Mary Hanafin, Barry Andrews (Fianna Fáil) and Fiona O'Malley (PD) - putting their weight behind the campaign, which was also supported by notable local residents Hugh Leonard, Marian Keyes, Tim Pat Coogan and John Waters.
Fianna Fáil councillor Cormac Devlin last night accused Mr Keegan of trying to stall the council by introducing doubt over the legality of the motion.
