Traffic wardens
Introduction
Traffic wardens and an Garda Síochána are responsible for enforcing laws relating to illegal parking and the stopping of vehicles on public roads. Local authorities employ traffic wardens to monitor instances of these offences in their areas.
You can be issued with fixed-charge fines, ranging from €40 to €200 for these offences.
Parking tickets and fixed-charge fines
Parking is restricted in certain places. For example, in certain towns and cities, the local authorities have the power to restrict parking at certain times and in certain places. These parking restrictions are indicated through signs displayed at the roadside.
A traffic warden can issue you with a parking ticket. This form will state that you have committed an offence and will state the date, time and location of the offence and will detail your vehicle registration.
Fixed charge fines
Fixed charge fines for parking offences can range from €40 to €200.
If you have been given a parking ticket or notified by a traffic warden of an offence, you have 28 days commencing on the beginning of the date of the notice to pay the fine.
If it is not paid within 28 days, the fine is increased by 50% and if it is still unpaid after a further 28 days then court proceedings are initiated.
It is an offence to remove or interfere with a parking ticket that has been placed on the vehicle of another person. If you do so, you could be liable to a fine.
Anyone obstructing a traffic warden acting in the course of their duty is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction for a fine.
Traffic wardens can request or demand your name and address. They must carry identification with them and identify themselves as traffic wardens. Failure to give your name and address on demand is also an offence and you may be liable on a summary conviction to a fine.
You can get a summary of the fixed charge offences and fines from the Road Safety Authority website.
The law on traffic wardens
The principal Act governing the powers of traffic wardens is the Local Authorities (Traffic Wardens) Act 1975 as amended. The underlying legislation in relation to road traffic offences is generally the Road Traffic Acts 1961 (as amended). The offences for which traffic wardens can issue fixed-charge fines are parking and motor tax disc offences and are set out in the Local Authorities (Traffic Wardens) Act 1975 (Fixed Charge Offences) Regulations 2022.