Call for Council to cut ‘outdated’ car clamping - ‘it’s from last century’

Aontú Peadar Tóibín has called on Dublin City Council to end car clamping and called it an "archaic and unnecessarily punitive system" from "last century"

News Stephen Holland Local Democracy Reporter 17:26, 30 Jun 2026 View 2 Images 7th July 2023, Dublin Ireland. Car being clamped by Parking Enforcement Services for illegal parking in Dublin city centre. (Image: Derick Hudson via Getty)

Aontú has called for an end to municipal clamping and questioned why Dublin City Council still uses an “outdated system from last century”.

Pushing for a move to a modern method of parking control, Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín has written to DCC Chief Executive Richard Shakespeare requesting an end to this punitive measure. He said it’s understood that Dublin is the only major capital in Europe that still practices the clamping of cars.

“It's a scourge for everyone who uses a car in the city; not only residents, but those from around the country who come here for work and pleasure; and for international tourists,” he said.

“But clamping is a thing of the past . Dublin is in fact an outlier. It appears to be the last European city where municipal clamping still exists. The sight of these dreaded yellow steel appendages on your vehicle is something from another time.”

View 2 Images Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín TD (Image: Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

He called for DCC to take a cue from other European cities, where alternatives like digital fines are issued to those parking illegally. He said clamping as a solution no longer makes sense in this day and age.

“It was arguably of its time around the millennium, when parking tickets existed. But it is now outdated, in a digital world.”

Mr Tóibín said the practice “worsens traffic, is inefficient, expensive, and counter productive”. He stressed the need to “do away with this archaic and unnecessarily punitive system,” pleading to Mr Shakespeare to “rid the city of clampers”.

The Meath West TD stated that he’s made this request as Dublin City Council has not renewed its regular contract with clamping company DSPS. He asked if the new contract will clamp cars, or move to a better system.

This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme

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