Medical staff parking near hospitals must show ID to avoid clamping, says council

Medical staff who park their car in the vicinity of a hospital or health centre must display identification on the dashboard to avoid being clamped, Dublin City Council has said.

The council has advised that doctors and nurses who park outside hospital grounds leave a copy of an ID card or a note on hospital or GP practice letterhead in their vehicle so that clampers know they are providing medical support during the Covid-19 crisis.

The advice follows the HSE's direction last week that all hospitals and healthcare facilities immediately suspend parking charges for staff for the duration of the Covid-19 pandemic. The decision to suspend charges came after the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) raised the issue of parking payments for medical staff with the HSE.

Dublin City Council said on Thursday that any medical staff who park outside hospital grounds should display proof of their profession (although not a doctor on call note) to avoid the fine.

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“The Dublin Street Parking Services will show discretion for these vehicles,” said a spokesman for the council’s parking enforcement division, adding that no exception had been made for parking at supermarkets.

HSE chief executive Paul Reid said last week that parking charges in hospital and healthcare facilities should be suspended “as a small mark of our gratitude” for the efforts of health workers.

One of the State’s main parking management operators, Euro Car Parks, also announced that it would suspend all clamping until further notice and instead deployed parking staff to help deliver prescriptions from pharmacies to elderly customers.

The Euro Car Parks company usually works at 200 sites around Dublin, operating car parks for local and public authorities and at shopping centres, hospitals, airports, railway stations, supermarkets and retail and leisure parks.