Parking Fine Appeals Policy

Please note: Parking fines will only be dealt with in writing in accordance with this policy.

Parking bye-laws and regulations are designed to assist the motorist, by eliminating obstructions, reducing congestion, and improving the free flow of traffic. Parking bye-laws and regulations also increase the turnover of on-street parking spaces, making the streets in Longford Town more accessible for all.

The responsibility is on the motorist to ensure compliance with the parking bye-laws. Motorists must also comply with the national parking regulations governing illegal parking on double yellow lines, single yellow lines, obstruction of junctions, footpaths and so on when they park their vehicles within the paid parking enforcement area of Longford Town.

It is important that a policy on parking fine appeals is in place to ensure and show that appeals are adjudicated in a fair and transparent manner.

This Policy stipulates the procedures to be adhered to without exception and provides clarity for decision-makers. It also clearly documents to persons who wish to appeal a fixed charge notice how to go about it, what timeframe is involved and how the appeal will be processed.

If you believe that the fixed charge notice (parking fine) you received should not have been issued, or that there are extenuating circumstances why proceedings on foot of the notice should be discontinued, you may submit an appeal under the Council’s Parking Fine Appeals Procedure.

To avoid any confusion, the term 'Traffic Fine' will be used instead of 'fixed charge notice' in this policy.

Important information: You should be aware, before submitting an appeal or requesting a review of a decision, that the following timeframes apply in relation to the payment of all traffic fines as amended under Statutory Instrument 247/2017 of the Road Traffic Act 2010 Part 3 which came into law on 1 June 2017.

Longford County Council has no discretion in relation to implementing this legislation.

Payment of the fixed charge may be made during the period of 28 days from the date of issuing of a traffic fine
If payment is not made during the period of 28 days from the date of issuing of the traffic fine, payment of the initial amount plus 50% may be made within the following 28-day period. For example, if a traffic fine of €40 is not paid within 28 days from the date of offence it will increase to €60 afterwards.

Appeals Policy

The Appeals Policy below explains how the Council’s Parking Fines Appeals procedure operates. Appeals must be made

In writing using the appeals form which is available online or by letter and sent to:
Longford County Council
Traffic Department
Camlin Court
Great Water Street
Longford
Or by email to parkingfineappeals@longfordcoco.ie

All appeals must be written clearly and legible and must:

Be submitted by the registered owner of the vehicle or by a person nominated by them as the driver
Be received within 14 days of the date of the alleged offence. Appeals received outside the period of 28 days after the alleged offence will be deemed invalid and will be rejected
Include the name, address and phone number of the applicant
Include the fixed charge notice (traffic fine) number

All Appeals will be treated as invalid and will be rejected if:

any of the above information is omitted
the grounds of appeal are under any of the offences listed below

All decisions made by Longford County Council in relation to traffic fine appeals are final.

Appeals will not be considered for any of the following parking offences:

Parking a vehicle in a parking place in which parking is subject to the payment of fees without paying the specified fee or failure to clearly display a valid parking disc or other permits, such as a carer, residents or visitor permit
Parking a vehicle in a place prohibited, for example, a bus lane or bay, taxi rank, loading bay, or in a pedestrianised area or any other prohibited areas
Parking in a disabled parking bay without displaying a valid disabled person badge or disc
Parking a vehicle on double yellow lines
Parking a vehicle wholly or partly on a footpath
Any other form of illegal parking
Parking in a manner prohibited, for example, double parking
A commercial vehicle parked longer than the time allowed (30 minutes) in a loading bay without loading or unloading
Failure to see or read signs
Failure to find a parking ticket machine
Failure to display a current tax disc

Any correspondence relative to any appeal will be issued by post to the registered owner of the vehicle (as entered in the Department of Transport Vehicle Owners Register) unless otherwise requested in writing.

All traffic fines stand unless or until Longford County Council or its authorised servants and/or agents confirm otherwise in writing.

Longford County Council and/or its authorised servants and/or agents will not accept any responsibility for the non-delivery of post.

Nominations

If the registered owner was not driving the vehicle when the traffic offence was committed then the registered owner must, within 28 days of the date of issue of the traffic fine, inform Longford County Council of the person who was in charge of the vehicle at that time.

Nominations must be made in writing to:
Longford County Council
Traffic Department
Camlin Court
Great Water Street
Longford

Or by email to parkingfineappeals@longfordcoco.ie

All nominations must:

Include the name, address and phone number of the person making the nomination (in the case of a corporate/non-incorporated entity this should be an authorised officer of the entity, in other words, the business name owner, company secretary or company director)
Include the name, address and phone number of the nominee
Include the traffic fine number
Include the vehicle registration number
Be signed by the person making the nomination

All nominations will be deemed invalid and will be rejected if any of the above information is omitted.

Receipt of the traffic fine appeal

When a traffic fine appeal is received the Longford County Council Traffic Department employees will:

Immediately begin processing it through the appeals processing procedures
Consider your appeal in conjunction with the evidence supplied by the traffic warden in relation to the issuing of the ticket. This will include notes made by the traffic warden as well as photographic evidence when the traffic fine was issued.
Notify you in writing of our decision within 14 days from receipt of appeal
Record details of your appeal for control and audit purposes

If an applicant does not receive a decision within 14 days from the date of receipt of the appeal the onus is on the applicant to contact:
Longford County Council
Traffic Department
Camlin Court
Great Water Street
Longford

Or by email to parkingfineappeals@longfordcoco.ie.

Traffic fine appeals will be adjudicated under the following two general categories:

Appeal against the traffic fine
Appeal on grounds of particular circumstances

Appeal against the traffic fine:

The traffic fine notice was not issued correctly.
If the reason for stopping is exempted under the traffic regulations/parking bye-laws.
The relevant signs or road markings prohibiting or restricting parking were missing.
The vehicle or its registration plates were taken without consent at the time of the offence. This applies when a vehicle has been parked illegally after being stolen.

Appeal on the grounds of particular circumstances:

Medical emergencies (Please note this does not extend to visits to a doctor’s surgery, pharmacy and so on)
Mechanical failure or breakdowns
Compassionate grounds

Conclusion

This policy will be used to assess all Traffic Fine appeals in a fair and transparent manner. No major departures from this Policy are permitted. Minor departures, however, may be permitted but only on a case-by-case basis. Where this arises the decision of Longford County Council will be final.

Notes

Note 1: It is an offence for the registered owner of a vehicle not to provide, within 28 days of the date of issue of the traffic fine, all information stipulated above which is required to nominate a person (other than the registered owner) who was in charge of the vehicle when the traffic fine was issued or to provide information which is false or misleading, either of which, upon conviction, is punishable by a fine not exceeding €1,000
Note 2: If convicted by a court in respect of non-payment of a fixed charge notice (fine) the offender may be liable to a fine not exceeding €1,000 plus costs and a disqualification of the offenders driving licence.
Note 3: Traffic fine may be issued for a number of offences including, but not solely:
Parking on a double yellow line
Parking on a single yellow line
Parking blocking an entrance
Parking in a disabled bay
Pay and display ticket expired
No valid pay and display ticket or pay parking permit
Invalid pay parking permit
Overstay of time limit
Parking in a loading bay (private taxed vehicle)
Commercial tax vehicle parked in loading bay without loading or unloading
Commercial tax vehicle parking in a loading bay in excess of the time limit (30 minutes)
Non-display of current road tax
Parking on a footway
Parking on a grass verge
Parking on a median strip
Parking at a bus stop
Parking within 5 metres of a road junction
Vehicle not parked properly within a parking bay
Parking in a cycle lane
Parking within 15 metres of traffic lights (approach side)
Parking within 5 metres of traffic lights (exit side)
Parking in a taxi bay/rank
Parking and obstructing other traffic
Parking and endangering other traffic
Parking at a school entrance
Parking on a continuous white line
Parking in a manner prohibited, for example, double parking