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Chapter 1: What updates are shared regarding protests in Dublin?
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Now, I promised I'd update people. If indeed anything happens on the streets in Belfast, anywhere in Northern Ireland or indeed in Dublin today, there had been a protest in Dublin. It seems to have dissipated and disappeared. Certainly O'Connell Street is back open. And if anything does change between now and three o'clock, I'll let you know.
If you were listening to David McCullough earlier, you would have heard them talking about clamping as well as what happened in Belfast because the stats were out. About 10% of clamps... This is in Dublin, but I'm sure it's true of anywhere else. 10% of clamps are removed or destroyed by the people who are clamped. And Cian is on the line. Cian, have you removed a clamp?
How are you doing, Ciarán? Good.
I have removed... I was just trying to think for the last two hours since one of your producers rang me to go on the show. I think I've removed about seven clamps in the last eight years.
And what do you remove?
Cutting locks. Well, the best thing, as I say to everyone, is if you go into Lidl's, when they have their tool sale on, it's 90 euro, around 90 euro for a cordless grinder. You get a battery and a couple of discs with that. And you'll have the lock taken off in less than 30 seconds, off the clamp.
And the whole idea is you leave the clamp there and they will never bring it to court or never, you'll never hear anything you get about it.
Where do you do this, Cian?
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Chapter 2: How does Cian deal with private clamping?
So when I called a brother of mine to come down with the grinder... He came down with the grinder. We ground it off. There was actually a woman there with the same problem. And I said to her, would you like me to cut off that lock for you? And she goes, would you please? And I said to her, I said, you walk around the corner there that you didn't witness anything.
And she walked off and she came back to him this later and the clamp was just on the ground. Lock was cut and now she drove off. And I have no problem whatsoever for clamping companies doing the likes of that. As I said, Ciarán, I can count seven clamps in the last eight years or so that I've cut.
for brother-in-laws, family members, anyone who would ring me, family member that would ring me, looking for a clamp to be cut, I just, no problem, two minutes down, cut it, gone.
David Cullen from Euro Car Parks Ireland is on the line as well. David, do you think that's fair?
Good afternoon, Ciarán. I think Cian's a brave man coming on the national airwaves, boasting about causing criminal damage and breaking the law. For sure, no problem, Ciarán. Sorry, if I may. If I might actually clarify the situation.
Yeah.
There is a law, the Vehicle Clamping and Signage Regulations Act 2017, and to cut off a clamp is illegal. It's not up to the private company to bring it to court.
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Chapter 3: What tools are recommended for removing clamps?
It's up to the Gardaí. And we have had numerous prosecutions. You can laugh all you like, but there are numerous prosecutions. Generally, just get a fine, slap on the wrist, the Probation Act, and then they go and try and get a visa to go to the States on holidays and find that they can't or emigrates to Australia and they can't.
Now, the number you said yourself brought, say, Kildare County Council bringing parking fines to court is actually relatively small because it's all down to court time. But we do, none of us would be in business if what you said was correct, Cian. And it's utter nonsense. It's not a civil matter, it's a criminal matter.
It's very clearly a criminal matter, Cian. It's not a criminal matter. Would you, I'm going to tell you, Cian, can I tell you another story, Cian? Can I tell you one more story?
Yeah.
There's a school in Naith and where I went to myself as a child and straight across from that school is a private car park. Straight across. Now every day about three o'clock there is a guard standing outside that school to make sure everything is okay and the children get out safe and blah blah blah.
My brother-in-law rang me and said to me, Cian when you bring up the grinder I've a clamp on the car here. This is going back two years ago. And I went up. The guard stood there watching me across the road cutting off the clamp never come over and of course at the time, of course I was a bit worried, I wonder will the guard come over, I wonder will he come over.
That guard stood there and watched me cut off sparks flying, cutting off that lock and leaving that clamp on the ground and the two of us drove away and that guard never battered an eyelid. So that man from Eurocar Parks is talking utter nonsense because the seven clamps at least I've cut off Not one phone call, not one Garda, nobody has ever come near me.
And as long as that keeps happening, I'll keep cutting them.
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Chapter 4: Where does Cian typically remove clamps?
But, Cian, are you suggesting that it's not against the law or it is against the law but you don't care because you're getting away with it?
To be honest with you, Ciarán, yes, basically. As long as I can get away with it, I will do what I have to do because the clamping companies are ruthless. I have no forgiveness for them whatsoever. If you are 10 minutes over your time, you will get clamped, which has happened. And I have cut clamps for literally people being 10 minutes, 15 minutes over. They are absolutely ruthless.
I don't feel sorry for them at all. And what he's talking is, that chap from Newark Car Parks, he's talking nonsense, Ciarán. I have friends of mine who have cut clamps. I'm in the construction company. Anyone in the construction company who has tools to cut these things will not pay €120. And I have loads of friends of mine in the construction company and they've all done it.
Not one of them has told me they were prosecuted. Now, I'm telling you my facts, Ciarán. I didn't come on the radio to tell lies. I'm telling you the knowledge that I know about it and what I have done. And that other chap might have knowledge of other people, but it's few and far between.
David, should we be more proactive or should authorities be more proactive about pursuing clamp cutters?
Well, it's not the authorities, it's Anthony Gardner at the time. We at the Irish Parking Association have spent 22 years lobbying various governments to get rid of clamping. Because the thing is, you might laugh, Cian, none of us actually want to clamp. You're describing one of the reasons, but it's dangerous for our clampers. It's expensive. We're the only country in Europe that does clamping.
And we hate it. But we have no alternatives. And it's a very black and white matter about the law. Cutting a clamp off is an illegal act. And it's a criminal offence. So I'm not talking rubbish. I know exactly what I'm talking about. You can sell drugs nine days out of ten and on the tenth day you'll get caught.
So I wouldn't suggest the vigilante kind of approach because we do prosecute, but the numbers are small, but the ones that are prosecuted are dealt with by the courts. So yes, we would like it to be more active, but as we all know, there's a limited guard resource and that's why they don't get to court or so few do get to court.
Cian, if the guards rang you on foot at this conversation, would you be as open with them as you are with me? Would you say, yeah, I cut clamps half all the time?
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Chapter 5: What is the legal stance on cutting off clamps?
It was always... You pay for some of the parking and then you stop. Either late or the fine print... The fine print is something that 99 out of 100 people don't read the fine print. And then all of a sudden you get caught out.
But you said something, Kenneth, that these are for-profit. They are. Like a private car park is a for-profit organisation. Like it's not a public amenity.
Listen, Ciarán, I have heard stories from old people that were 5, 10 minutes over, 15 minutes over. And they're like ninjas sitting in their vans. They're ready to pounce as soon as that goes over its time limit. And €120, a lot of people haven't got €120 to pay for it.
I know my nieces and nephews, because I couldn't offer a nephew of mine in Salins train station, only there about a year ago, and he didn't have €120 to pay for that. And basically, he has parked outside.
Chapter 6: What experiences does Cian share about clamping incidents?
If you had to pay €120, would you have it?
Of course I'd have it, but I wouldn't.
So you have €120 and you're not an elderly person. You're doing it for yourself. And your brother who was parked across from the school, or was it your brother-in-law? He didn't sound like an elderly person as well, the way you described him. No, no.
Absolutely not. But as I said, look, Ciarán, as I said, when you get away with these things, you'll keep doing them. And that's my motto to it. If I can get away with paying €120, I will absolutely get away with it. And that's just the way it is.
David, what would you prefer instead of clamping?
We would prefer to give out parking charge notices, the equivalent of parking fines. They'd be half the price. People wouldn't have to pay in the spot. They could appeal. That is the model around Europe, except for Ireland, unfortunately.
Cian, would you pay them?
I wouldn't, to be honest with you, because I know loads... The rules just don't apply, do they, to you? I'm going to tell you stories here. I could tell you stories all day, Cian. We don't have time for all these stories. But look, I have friends of mine who had parking fines.
and literally went into court and their solicitor told them, keep your money in your pocket, you go down to Portlaoise, you're signed in for an hour and you're given the bus fare back to Nath. And that has happened in so many cases. And by the way, it's a civil matter as well. It's not a criminal matter.
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Chapter 7: How do clamping companies operate and what are their practices?
And of course, we would have a lot of those in Dublin City Council as well. I'd also be very much in favour of tolling away more cars, particularly those who are parked dangerously or those who are parked in disabled bays, for example. I think that's where you need to go down. I think modern technology these days, it's very easy to track a red space.
And obviously, local authority has bylaws as well in relation to accessing information and issuing those fine. So, I think clamps should be phased out two times.
We used to have parking tickets, though, before we had clamps. What was the rationale for the changeover and why would it work to go back?
Yeah, I think in the early 2000s, obviously, clamps had a role to play. You know, I think we've moved on a bit now. Most people have smartphones now, which is where you need to track Payment, you can pay in a metre obviously for Dublin City Council on a payzone app as well. So I think we've advanced a bit. I just think most people nowadays see clamps as a kind of warning in some ways.
And as the article described today to one of my councillor colleagues, nearly 10% are being cut off in the city alone. which is a very high amount. And they're obviously damaged then under contract and they have to replace those as well. So I think they've served a purpose.
And as one of our previous speakers also mentioned, we're one of the only European countries to actually issue clamps as well. A lot of countries have moved on a long time ago and they've managed to fix plenty of notices all by towing away.
And if somebody... In your imagination, Keith, is not paying those parking tickets. I mean, are you talking about towing them away when they enter one of the car parks and parking them, or just that their reg plate would be identified by somebody they could be towed from anywhere?
Well, in relation to... If someone parks in a Dublin City Council car park, obviously we have boy laws that allow us, Dublin Street Parking Services, to issue a fixed-time notice to that person. And if it's not paid in 28 days, it doubles, and then it can be taken to court. We already have those powers in the city.
If it's a private car park, obviously, I'm not aware of the different legalities of it. But in the city, certainly. But even still, in 2024, we still had over 40,000 clamps in the city, which is an awful lot. And we only had over 23,000, I think, fixed pension notices. I'd be more in favor of phasing out the clamp. More fixed pension notices and more towing away.
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