The 10 worst clamping blackspots in Dublin for 2017 have been revealed

Kate Demolder

The number one spot claimed over €82,000 in clamping fees last year.

Dublin City Council has released figures showcasing the 10 worst clamping blackspots in the city centre.

In figures released to JOE, Dublin City Council said that Mespil Road in Dublin 4 claimed €82,640 in clamping fees in 2017, almost €20,000 more than the second street on the list, Waterloo Road, which saw €63,040 charged for clamp removal.

Mespil Road retained its top spot from 2016, showing an increase of €8,480 in 12 months, or 106 individual clampings at a fee of €80 per release.

The council confirmed that there were 55,618 enforcements carried out in 2017, with the top ten worst blackspots listed as follows:

1. Mespil Road (€82,640)
2. Waterloo Road (€63,040)
3. South Circular Road (€56,640)
4. Gardiner Street Lower (€50,800)
5. Merrion Square West (€46,160)
6. Burlington Road (€43,920)
7. Merrion Square South (€43,600)
8. Ormond Quay Upper (€42,320)
9. Fitzwilliam Square North (€41,920)
10. Capel Street (€34,320)

2017’s figures saw Earlsfort Terrace, D’Olier Street and Wolfe Tone Street knocked off the list, having previously made the top ten in 2016. They had 517, 491 and 530 vehicles clamped on them respectively in 2016.

The top 10 streets combined saw over €500,000 in clamping fees in 2017 (€505,360), or 6,317 individual clampings, priced at €80 apiece.

The top two offences – failure to display a valid ticket/permit or to register via Parking Tag – accounted for 57% of all enforcement events in 2016. 43% of clamping offences related to traffic management issues.

The council has also informed JOE that, according to their reports, six individual cars have been clamped 51 times in the past four years.

The six most persistent offenders were clamped, on average, once every three or four weeks over 48 months.

Drivers whose cars are clamped are required to pay a statutory clamp release fee of €80 before their vehicle is declamped or a fee of €160 and a store charge of €35/day to have their vehicle released from the pound. These fees have remained unchanged since the scheme was originally introduced in October 1998.