Dublin City Council is considering ways to stamp out the abuse of parking regulations by motorists displaying disabled parking cards.
But authorities are reluctant to use clamping or towing to deal with vehicles parking on double yellow lines, bus lanes and clearways.
"We believe there are significant levels of abuse," Tim O'Sullivan, of the council's roads and traffic department, told The Irish Times. "But clearly we don't want to clamp anybody who is genuinely disabled."
"We are well-aware of the abuse but also we are aware of the sensitivity of this," he added.
He said bus lanes, double-yellow lines and clearways "apply to everybody" and said the council also wanted to stop the practice of non-disabled motorists with disabled relatives using the parking card to park in specially designated parking bays for lengthy periods.
But he continued: "It is very difficult to detect, unless you are standing there watching."
The Irish Wheelchair Assoiciation (IWA) agrees that the disabled parking card system was being widely abused. Tony Maher, the IWA's national transport manager, said the group had written to the Department of Transport seeking a review of it.
"People are availing of these cards with very minor conditions," Maher said. "Doctors are liberally interpreting the medical criteria," he added.
"We accept GPs may have difficulties in saying 'No' to family patients. What we are looking for is that some sort of independent medical assessment system is introduced."
The IWA has 25,000 parking permits in circulation, and is issuing them at a rate of 5,000 a year based on what Maher believes is sometimes flawed assessments by doctors. The Disabled Drivers' Association has 40,000 such cards in circulation.
Maher said the IWA had been "inundated with complaints" from traffic wardens, guards, and members of the public around the country, who have taken issue with seemingly non-disabled motorists abusing the permit system.
"The downside is that wheelchair-users are increasingly finding it difficult to get parking."
The issue of disabled parking was discussed at a recent meeting of Dublin City Council's Strategic Policy Committee on Transport.
The committee, which meets every three to four months, comprises city councillors and groups representating motorists, hauliers, cyclists, logistics and those with a disability.
Conor Faughnan of AA Ireland, who attended the meeeting, said the re-introduction of a ticketing system to combat the abuse was discussed.
The system would see those who are deemed to be abusing the parking permit system penalised to the tune of up to €160 but their vehicle would not be clamped or towed.
"No clamper worth his salt will clamp a car with a disabled sticker, even if it is out of date," said Faughnan. "But abuse does happen, we know that."
He described the ticketing idea as a "clampless clamp".
"It would be a good way to control abuse. The car isn't imobilised and at the same time you stop the potential for abuse."
But O'Sullivan said Dublin City Council's policy comprised clamping and towing only and added there were "no immediate plans to introduce this. There are no firm proposals as yet."
